


The Grey

by shot_gun_shuts_his_cakehole



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Gen, Hurt Dean Winchester, Hurt Sam Winchester, Hurt/Comfort, Nephilim, Past Abuse
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-30
Updated: 2017-04-30
Packaged: 2018-10-25 19:41:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 31,497
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10771101
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shot_gun_shuts_his_cakehole/pseuds/shot_gun_shuts_his_cakehole
Summary: Takes place after 12x23 so warning for spoilers - Sam and Dean are still reeling over the recent events which saw them lose all of their family and allies. Whilst grieving, they also have to deal with birth of Lucifer's offspring. In doing so they discover Jack isn't the only nephilim out there. There's a young woman who just might equal Jack in power. She could be a powerful ally to the brother's and she gives them back, something that they'd thought they had lost forever but she has secrets of her own and things are never as simple as they seem.





	1. Evil Angel

 

_Hold it together, birds of a feather,_   
_Nothing but lies and crooked wings._   
_I have the answer, spreading the cancer,_   
_You are the faith inside me._   
  
_No, don't_   
_Leave me to die here,_   
_Help me survive here._   
_Alone, don't remember, remember._   
  
_Put me to sleep evil angel._   
_Open your wings evil angel_

_\- Evil Angel, Breaking Benjamin_

* * *

 

Sam stared at the grown creature in front of him. It curled in on himself, seemingly shielding itself away. Despite the submissive body language of the nephilim, there was something extremely threatening about him. Maybe it was the eye's, or the fact that he'd just been born but was fully grown or perhaps it was the creepy ass noises it was making. Whatever it was that was threatening, it was making the hairs on Sam's arm stand on end.

What were they supposed to do about this? The Nephilim managed to create a tear in the fabric of reality before it had even left the womb, god only knows what he could do now he's on two feet. They had no idea what to do and they were one their own now. Sam's stomach sank at the thought of what had happened. Rowena, Crowley, Cas and now their mom, gone. They were on their own. Given a second to think of what they'd lost, Sam thought he may just fall to his knee's.

No, he couldn't think about that right now, he couldn't think about his family... There was a threat at hand. A possibly world ending threat so he needed to keep it together. He wouldn't think about how Crowley had killed himself to help them or Cas' face as the light fades from his eye's or the fact their mom was trapped in some crazy alternative universe with a pissed of Lucifer. No, instead he'd think of something that didn't break his heart. He'd think about dealing with the nephilim.

Sam considered what the hell he was supposed to do. He was no match against a nephilim. He didn't even know if he needed to fight yet. Just because Jack looked like something from a horror movie didn't mean he was dangerous.

Searching for his voice, Sam decided to try and talk to the newborn nephilim.

"Jack? I...I don't want to hurt you, okay? I want to help", began Sam with his hands up.

The Nephilim rose to his feet, eye's ablaze. Sam was waiting to get something back, some kind of reaction. He was hoping he'd accept their help and not be hostile. He just wanted something to go their way for once.

The Nephilim simply gazed at Sam which quickly became unnerving.

"Ja...", began Sam before the nephilim flicked his wrist and sent Sam hurtling through the air. Sam felt himself collide with glass that shattered from his weight and before he could do a thing to stop it, he knew he was heading out of the second storey window.

His body landed with a heavy thud and the sickening crack of a breaking bone echoed through the tense air. Black spots splattered Sam's vision and pain radiated through his body.

He'd landed not too far from Cas' lifeless body, where Dean was still kneeling over their fallen brother.

At the smashing sound, Dean's eye's had snapped from Cas' body, to the window as he saw his little brother come plummeting out of the window.

Cas was dead and Dean didn't want to leave his side but his little brother wasn't dead and he needed him.

Quickly rushing over to Sam, Dean grimaced as he noticed Sam's ankle bent at a unnatural angel and his brother's face creased in pain.

"Sammy?! What is it?", questioned Dean.

"It's the nephilim, it's Jack. He's not a baby", explained Sam through gritted teeth. Dean frowned in confusion but before he could question Sam further, he felt the presence of someone else.

Dean looked to the doorway of the house where Cas had been keeping Kelly. Emerging from the threshold was the figure of a grown man. He stepped further away from the house, his image becoming clear to Dean.

He looked around the age of a human in their early twenties but Dean had no doubts this man was Kelly's 'baby'. He was as pale as a sheet of paper and his eye's glowed golden. He walked closer to the brother's and Dean shielded Sam's injured figure in a protective stance.

The Nephilim appraised the brother's in, what almost looked like, apathy before turning from them and disappearing all together.

* * *

It had been a week since Jack had been born. A week since they'd lost so much.

After the nephilim had dismissed them and walked away, Dean had helped Sam into the car and then carefully placed Cas' body in the back seat of the impala.

They headed back to the bunker in silence. When they finally arrived, Dean lay Cas down in the bunker, in his home. He knew they'd need to lay him to rest but he couldn't do it. Not yet.

After Sam's fall, he needed the hospital. Dean left Cas' lifeless body in the bunker, covered by a blanket before insisting Sam got checked out. Sam had obviously broken his ankle but he'd also broken his leg in the same side. It was put in a cast and Sam got sent hobbling along on a pair of crutches. Broken bone's aside, Sam only sustained a concussion. He'd been lucky, unlike Rowena, Crowley, their mom and Cas.

After the hospital, they drove back to the bunker. They ended up burying Cas. Sam had suggested a hunter's funeral because after all, Cas was one of them but Dean seemed intent on burial. Sam wondered if part of him wanted to save his body in case he found some way back but Sam feared that there was no way back from this.

Thr brothers weren't hunting. Sam couldn't really hunt on crutches and he thought the rest might do Dean good too. However, with no hunt and no idea where the nephilim was, it gave Sam the opportunity to truly process what had happened. Cas was their brother, a Winchester where it mattered and he was gone. Crowley may have been a sneaky son of a bitch 70% of the time but Sam thought, as far as demon's go, he wasn't so bad. He was sort of a 'frenemy' and Sam was actually sad that he'd died. Then there was Rowena. A woman who was undoubtedly difficult to work with and would stab you in the back if there was something in it for herself but she was still an ally and she was gone too. And Mary...Their mom. They'd only just got her back and half of that time they'd been on completely different pages and when they finally got it together, she was gone too. She'd stood up to the devil for them and now she was trapped in another universe with him.

It had finally hit Sam, everything that happened and it hit him like a semi and sucked the air out of his lungs. He didn't know how to handle it. He'd tried alcohol but that just made him sadder. He'd tried talking to Dean but Dean was shutting down.

Dean. Sam worried for his brother. Sam loved Cas. He would have died for him and he saw him as family but it was just different with Dean. Sam wasn't sure if it was that they had a closer bond or just a different sort of bond but he knew how hard the death of Cas must feel for Dean. Sam was finding it hard enough, so he knew that Dean would be devastated.

Sam wanted to talk to Dean. He wanted to be their for his brother and help him. He wanted for them to deal with their grief together but Dean was shutting down. Sam was walking on egg shells around him. He had the sense that Dean was angry with him. He wasn't taking it out on Sam or yelling at him like after their dad but Sam almost wished that he was. He could handle it better than the broken look in Dean's eye's.

Dean was drowning his feelings in whiskey and denial and Sam didn't know how to reach out to him. He felt useless. So when he couldn't do anything to take away his brother's pain at losing their family or his own, he decided to try and focus on something he might be able to do something about. The Nephilim.

He researched all day and by night tried to sleep until nightmare's came into play. Sam's nightmare's included old memories of the cage, of the nephilim's eye's and continous clipshows of Cas' death and their mother's disappearance. Sometime's in his nightmare, instead of Cas' body, it was Dean's. In his dreams, Sam was kneeling over his older brother's dead body. Waking up in a pool of sweat, Sam headed to the kitchen where he'd find Dean. Both, so obviously racked with night terrors but neither of them acknowledging it.

In the end, neither of them slept much. Sam would continue his research into the night and Dean would begin to help but usually end up paying more attention to the whiskey bottle then to the computer.

They were stuck in the cycle. Both brother's hurting but neither of them with a clue how to make things better.

After a week, Sam finally had some news.

"Dean I've found him", told Sam as he shook his brother awake. Dean had fallen asleep hours ago in a drunken stupor, his head resting uncomfortably on the table.

"What?" Groaned Dean.

"I've found Jack", stated Sam.

"Okay, I'm awake. What did you find?", asked Dean in a groggy voice.

"I was looking for signs of strange crap happening and ended up stumbling across several stories about events which seemed sort of biblical and then I pulled CCTV footage from those towns and searched out for him and I've managed to track all his movements in the past week. He's moving a lot but he seems to be heading in a pattern. It's like he's looking for something or someone and then I looked at the tapes again and I noticed that in almost every bit of footage he's in, there's this same girl in all of the footage too. At different times to Jack but it's too much of a coincidence that she just happens to be in all of the same places, right?", expained Sam.

"Yeah, so you think Lucifer Jr is tailing this chick for some reason? Why?", questioned Dean.

"I don't know but it doesn't seem good. Like I said, it seems to be in a sort of pattern and I think that, if he continues the pattern he's been travelling in, he'll be heading to Chardon, Ohio next", said Sam.

"So we head over there and try and find this girl, see what's going on with her?", asked Dean.

"Yeah, I can't think of any good reasons Jack would be after her", nodded Sam.

"Okay, let's go", agreed Dean.

* * *

Sam fidgeted in his seat as the impala slid across the smooth asphalt. There was a heaviness in the air and Sam was desperate to break it but he didn't want to trigger a blow up from Dean. But Sam couldn't take the tense atmosphere anymore, so he forced his throat to work for him

"Dean? I...I'm sorry man", stated Sam quietly.

For the first time on the trip, Dean glanced at his younger brother and a genuinely confused look plastered his face.

"What for?" Asked Dean simply.

"...All of it. Letting the nephilim get away. For Lucifer. For mom and Crowley and Rowena....and for C..Cas. I'm sorry for everything, man", breathed Sam tiredly.

"Sam, no, none of that crap is your fault. I don't blame you for any of it, Sammy", stated Dean.

"Really?", wondered Sam in disbelief. Sam was so sure Dean's anger at their whole situation had been directed at him. Dean had barely said two words to him or looked him in the eye, since.

"Why would I? None of it was your fault. The Nephilim sent you flying out of window, I don't think you had much of a choice in the matter Sammy and Lucifer? That wasn't on you, Sam. Crowley is the reason why he wasn't in the cage. As for Cas, mom and Crowley? They made their own decisions. None of it was one you", frowned Dean.

"You're not mad?" Questioned Sam.

"Damn right I'm mad! I mad at Cas, at Crowley, at mom and Lucifer. I'm pretty pissed off at Chuck himself right now but I'm not mad at you. I know I've been distant this past week but you know I'm not good with this emotional crap! I just need time to work through it my own way and my own way just happens to be solitude and alcohol but I don't blame you for any of this. We're good ", insisted Dean.

"Okay", nodded Sam, "I guess, wherever Lucifer is concerned, I always feel like that's on me. You know? Like he's my responsibility or something".

"Sammy, you're not his parent. The only person responsible for him is Chuck and himself. You don't owe anybody anything, especially when it comes to Lucifer, you've given enough and suffered enough because of him. As much as it sucks that mom's trapped in that bizzaro world, Lucifer is gone too. He can't end the world anymore", reminded Dean.

"Okay", stated Sam as he offered a small smile to his brother, "and I get that you need to deal with this in your own way...but you don't have to deal with this by yourself. I'm not pushing you but you're not on your own with this. I know that this has gotta be hitting you hard. So, I'm here. If you need me, I'm here".

"I know you are but talking about it isn't going to change anything. It's not going to bring them back. What I need to do is focus on the problem in front of us, on 'Jack' but, if I do need to talk...I know where you are", conceded Dean.

Sam smiled at that. He wasn't convinced that Dean would open up even if he did need too but getting Dean to even consider the option was a massive feat when his brother was grieving.

"So, what are we planning to do about him if we find him?" Asked Dean.

Glad that he was at least talking, Sam was willing to talk about whatever even if it was about the nephilim.

"I'm not sure what we can do at this point but he's after someone and we can at least figure out why. If she's in danger, we can try to keep her safe but we still don't know if we even need to do anything yet. He might not be evil", suggested Sam.

"Really? 'Cause he looks like he's walked right out of an issue of fangoria and he sent you through a second storey window. I thought we were pretty sure he wasn't a good guy at this point", countered Dean.

"I hear you but looks don't mean anything and he might have just felt threatened...he had a chance to kill us but didn't. Why would he leave us?" Wondered Sam.

"Maybe he didn't give a damn about us because he knows he's too powerful for anyone to kill him", replied Dean.

"Maybe...I guess we'll know more when we find this girl he's after", stated Sam.

* * *

Dean and Sam were almost at the end of their 15 hour drive to Chardon, Ohio. They'd spent the rest of the drive making small talk and listening to one of Dean's tapes. There was a darkness hanging over them but Sam was just relieved that Dean was talking more and was actually sober for a change.

They were passing through Painesville, a town in Ohio that was just 20 minutes from Chardon. The highway was wide and empty. Sam was taking in his surroundings the way he always did when they were driving.

Dean's panicked voice snapped Sam from his thoughts.

"Sam!" Exclaimed Dean. Sam looked to his brother. Dean was focused on the road, eye's wide. Sam gazed at the road to see what had Dean so panicked. His stomach twisted.

The Nephilim stood in the centre of the road. His fierce gaze focused on the brother's. He was now fully clothed and fully visible in the day light. He didn't look any less threatening.

Dean pressed the brakes suddenly, causing both he and Sam to lurch forward. The nephilim didn't waver, continued looking at the brother's.

Without a word, the nephilim pushed his left hand in the direction of the right, almost like he was pushing away some sort of invisible force. Sam and Dean didn't have time to consider what the hell the nephilim was doing, before the impala flipped over, continuing to smash around in unison with the nephilim's hand.

They felt every smash, as the impala collided harshly with the ground before smashing into a tree at the side of the road. As his beloved car was being totalled with him and Sam in it, Dean briefly saw the nephilim walking away disinterestedly before sinking into the blackness that was sneaking into his vision.

* * *

Dean reclaimed consciousness some time later. He didn't know how long he'd been here or what had happened. His mind was fuzzy and unfocused but he had the sense that something bad was going to happen or had happened, he just wasn't sure what. However, he was aware of pain, a lot of pain which told him that his instinct was right. He just couldn't string the thoughts together to figure out what to do about it. He did know he needed to get to Sam. To find out if he was okay but his mind and body were not working well together.

"Sam?", croaked Dean before a coughing fit attacked him.

Dean wasn't sure how long he'd bee there but at some point, he felt strong hands pulling at him. He wanted to fight but he couldn't. Soon, the pain and fear vanished and was replaced with a sort of contentedness before he once again, drifted of into oblivion.

* * *

Sam didn't remember what had happened properly. One minute, he and Dean were driving to Chardon and the next, Jack was in front of their car and then there was nothing. Sam knew the car had gone over but he had no memories after that. He found himself waking up laying on something soft and comfortable. The air was warm and had a cosy feel to it. Some band that he'd never heard of were playing softly in the background and the smell of something good cooking, filled his nose.

Sam would have thought he was in hospital after what had happened but the thing he was laying on was much to comfortable and the food smelled just too good for a hospital. The surroundings also lacked the clinical smell that was so familiar with hospitals.

Sam pried his tired eye's open. He blinked and took in his surroundings.

They were in a small 'apartment' of sorts but there was no window's and the walls were stone, almost like they were in a cave or something but there were homey lamps and fairy lights illuminating the place. He realised that he was lying on a sofa that pulled out into a bed, covered by blankets. He looked and saw Dean lying on a pull out bed too.

Despite the comfortableness of where he was, panic built up inside of Sam. He had no idea where he was or how he and Dean wound up here. Dean wasn't awake but Sam was beyond relieved when he saw his chest rising and falling. Sam slowly began to get up of the bed.

"You should rest", called an unfamiliar voice.

Sam froze, the voice was female but wasn't in Sam's sight. He saw light coming from around the corner towards the end of the 'room'. He stood up, ready to fight as he headed towards the opening. 

A women stood with her back to him, stirring something in a sauce pan. She glanced at Sam, smiling cheerfully.

Sam recognised her, she was the woman from the pictures. The woman who the nephilim was chasing.

"I'm sure you have a tonne of questions which I'll be willing to answer but for now all that you need to know is you're safe and I'm hella hungry. I'm gonna make some food. Do you like spaghetti?" She asked brightly.

Sam was about answer when he heard grumbling from behind him. Sam turned to see Dean waking. Sam could see the moment Dean's instincts kicked in and his eye's shot open. 

Dean was up in an instant, taking in his surroundings. 

"Sammy? You okay?", asked Dean.

"He's fine", replied the mystery woman. 

Dean reached for his gun as he noticed the woman. 

Sam took notice of the woman properly for the first time, finally being able to relax now he knew Dean was okay. He could see her much more clearly, off the CCTV footage. She was more of a girl than a woman. She looked in her early twenties. Her hair was a dirty blonde colour, that was cut above her shoulders. It was tied back loosely, several bits of hair falling out of the hold. Her eye's were green with flecks of gold. Freckle's scattered her face and dimples appeared on her face whenever she smiled. She was small but most people were small to Sam. She looked about 5"4. She was dressed in a severely oversized hoodie which looked worn with age. It was so big, it looked more like a dress and her hands were hidden in the long sleeves. She didn't look threatening but Sam knew that didn't really mean anything. 

She glanced at Dean and his gun before continuing with her task, apparently unconcerned about the gun aimed at her. 

"You know, it's sort of rude to threaten the person who saved your life", scolded the girl lightly. 

"You what?" Asked Dean.

"You know? You were in a car wreck after the nephilim tried to kill you. I got you out of there, healed you and I even fixed your car", informed the girl.

"You fixed my car?!" Demanded Dean.

"Yeah, she's a beauty! I'm not a car person but even I know she's something special", she admired. 

"Look lady, I appreciate that you saved our lives and fixed my car but you're obviously not human. You need to tell me what you are right now!" Ordered Dean.

"Fine", sighed the girl as she put down her utensils. She looked at Dean before raising her hand in front of her. When she did, Dean shot backwards and involuntarily sat on the sofa. The gun was swept out of his hand. She did the same with Sam. She wasn't hurting them but right now, they couldn't move.

"Don't worry, I'm not going to do anything to you. I'd just rather have this discussion civilly without a useless weapon being pointed at my face", stated the girl, "My name is Madeline but I prefer Maddie".

"Okay, Maddie. So what are you? An angel?" Asked Sam.

"Sort of. I'm a nephilim too, like Jack", answered Maddie. 

"Is that why he's after you?" Wondered Dean.

"I'm not sure if he's 'after me' as such...more like reaching out to me. We're linked somehow. I think it's because I'm nephilim too but whatever it is, I can feel what he's feeling and I know he can feel me too. He's terrified. I was on my way to find him when I found you guys. I think he see's you both as a threat", explained Maddie.  

"I thought the angel's killed all nephilim's?" Questioned Sam.

"They thought they did but there's a few of us still out. None quite like Jack and I though. We have something in common", said Maddie vaguely.

"Care to explain?", snapped Dean.

"Well seen as you asked so nicely", scowled Maddie, "My father was an archangel too, like Jack. That makes us both considerably more powerful than other nephilim's", stated Maddie.

"That's not possible", denied Dean, "other than Lucifer, all the archangel's are dead or incapacitated".

"They're really dead?", asked Maddie in disappointment. 

"Well Gabriel and Raphael are and the other two are unreachable", admitted Sam, "Sorry".

"It's okay. I always knew it was a good possibility. I mean, I could never find him but anyway, they might be dead now but I'm 24 years old and they weren't then", reminded Maddie.

"Gabriel", stated Sam in realisation.

"What?" Questioned Dean.

"Come one, Dean. When you think of the archangel's, who's the one who strikes you as the most likely to get someone pregnant? The angel that come's to mind for me is a certain trickster who had an apetite for candy, woman and messing with us", replied Sam.

"You knew my dad?" Interjected Maddie eagerly.

"So he's right? You're Gabriel's kid?" Inquired Dean.

"Yeah, he's the one", confirmed Maddie. 

"Look kid, I want to believe that you're cool and everything but you need you give me more information. All of the information", bargained.

"Fine", agreed Maddie.

* * *

 _A day ago_  

Madeline sighed in relief as she flopped herself down on the comfortable sofa. The homely blue pull-out looked so inviting compared to the motel's, ugly looking bed sheets, that she was used to. Madeline was tired. Not the kind of tired that would ease after a good nap but the type of tired that seeped through to her soul and grace. She felt a little lighter now though. Finally in her home town of Chardon, Ohio where her parents had raised her.

She'd been back in America and on the move for the past year and she had resented having to lay low in grotty motels but it was the best she could afford whilst she was on the run. Madeline was warded from angels but it didn't stop supernatural creatures from being drawn to her and her power. There was a particular group of demons that had been after her for the past two years and after she'd felt the effects of Lucifer's child being conceived, she knew she needed to lay low but recently, she'd come to realisation that trouble would always find her wherever she went.

Due to who she was, her life was never going to be simple but running didn't keep the supernatural world away from her and it only made things harder. Maddie had decided that, if she was constantly going to be fighting for what most human's take for granted, then she could at least form some resemblance of a normal life for herself. She'd started to make her way back to her parents home town and once she'd gotten there, she's sought out a place to stay. 

Maddie still wanted to stay under the radar so she went to a mountain range. There were some perks to being a nephilim. One of which was he ability to create things from nothing. She made a sort of, hallowed out space in the middle of the mountain. There was no entrance or door to get into it and only someone with supernatural abilities could make their way in. Inside, Maddie made a place for herself. Using her abilities to conjure up lighting and furniture. It was cosy and she felt like she had a place for herself for the first time since she was six years old.

Maddie had studied all aspects of her kind, of angel's, of witchcraft and of supernatural beings in general. She'd had to develop a skill set to put up efficient warding that would keep other's out but allow her in. It was a new situation and before now, Maddie's life had been a constant stream of crap.  

\----------------

Maddie had only found out that she was a nephilim when she was 16 years old. Before then, she had known she wasn't normal but she hadn't know what exactly she was.

She remembered her mother telling her she was special as a little kid but Maddie hadn't known her mom was being literal.

Maddie was 6 when her entire family had died. For the first six years of her life, she had lived with her mother, step father (who she'd believed to be her biological father) and her younger brother, who was 2 years younger, in Chardon, Ohio. Maddie's 'special' abilities made themselves known from day one.

When she was a young child, she had little control of her power, so her mom had taken her to a powerful psychic who helped Maddie to gain control and it had helped enough to allow her to live a normal life. Other than the grace swirling inside of her, she was normal kid. Her family was happy.

Until her sixth birthday.

It had started out great. Her little brother had woken her at 6:00 am, jumping on her bed, yelling happy birthday. Maddie had been desperate to learn how to ride a horse and despite their low incomes, her parents had saved up for her to take a lesson on her birthday. Her friends mom had taken Maddie and her best friend to the lessons whilst her parents were preparing a little party back at there home but the party never happened.

Maddie had burst through the door to her home with her friend and her mother, excited after her lesson. She'd ran through to find her parents. It was when Maddie was looking in the kitchen that she had heard a horrified shriek from her best friends mom. Maddie ran to her, seeing the bloody scene before her. Her parents lifeless bodies were strewn unceremoniously, crimson blood splattered the room like some kind of macabre birthday decoration. There were two stranger's in the room too, collapsed and unconscious but with bloody blades still tight in their hands.

Maddie hadn't realised she was screaming or crying until she was being picked up by a police officer. The gentle man had scooped her up, shielding her from the horrific sight as he whispered reassurances to her.

She had only been six years old but she remembered every detail. She saw it in her dreams.

The police declared it as a robbery gone wrong but her little brother hadn't been among the casualties in the house. He was never found. The men who'd killed her family had claimed that they didn't remember doing it. They both said the last thing they remembered was seeing black smoke, two weeks prior to the murders. Maddie hadn't known at the time but some years later she had realised that demon's killed her family. They came for her and her family had payed the price. She had been out, if she had only been home, maybe they'd have just taken her and left her family alone. She never stopped blaming herself and it wasn't the last time demon's came for her but she always handled them.

After her parents died, Maddie was placed in the care system. The only other relative she had was her mom's father but he was elderly and unwell so she was placed in foster care.

She spent the next 8 years being passed around from different children's homes and fosters families. It wasn't great. Some of the places she got sent were okay. Others were not so good and some were really bad. She hardly spent five minutes in one place. She mostly spent a couple of weeks with fosters family's and a couple of months in the kids homes. The longest she ever spent with one family was 3 years and that was the worst of all the places that she'd ever been sent. She never got a permanent home. Nobody wanted to take in a troubled preteen who'd witnessed a grizzly murder.  

When she was 14, she got put in a adolescent psychiatric unit. They thought she was crazy. She would have done too, from their point of view. At the age of 16, her case worker had given her the letters from her mom. They'd been found in her mother's personal belongings, addressed to Maddie with the instructions that she was only to open them when she turned 16. It was almost like her mother wrote them in case something did happen to her.

She'd explained everything in the letters, including the truth about who she was.

When Maddie's mother had been 20, her parents had wanted her to marry their friends son. Her parents were old fashioned and wanted her to marry and settle down. Maddie's mom had been a free spirit and her parents weren't enthusiastic about her personality and interests which is why they wanted her to marry someone suitable. Maddie's mom hadn't wanted their future, so she ran away. She had been saving up since she was 16 and had enough money to catch a flight to France. She'd always wanted to go and she had known that it was the right time.

She got a job in a little cafe and the owner had let her crash in a box room at the back of the cafe. Her mother had wrote to Maddie about how much she had loved it there and it was there she had met Maddie's biological father. They met at a bar, he'd introduced himself as Gabe and they spent the next 6 months together.

They fell for each other and at first, her mom had no idea that there was anything different about the man she'd fallen in love with. That was until she was mugged and stabbed. She'd been bleeding out in an abandoned alleyway when Gabe had shown up. She was fading but she didn't miss her boyfriend using his own hands to heal her stab wound.

He'd taken her back home and explained everything. At first Maddie's mom hadn't believed him. Miracle healing hands were one thing but the archangel Gabriel was a whole different ball game but Gabriel had the power to back up his claim and she eventually accepted what he was telling her. She'd been mad at him for keeping it a secret but she had forgiven him and they'd continued their relationship. They lived together for a while and they were happy.

18 months into their relationship, Maddie's mom found out she was pregnant. Gabriel had panicked because nephilim's were a 'no go' area in his world but he wasn't worried about Maddie being an 'abomination', he was worried about her safety and the harm other's could bring to her. Maddie's mom wrote how he stayed all through the pregnancy and through the birth. Gabriel had protected Maddie's mom and made sure she survived the birth which was apparently a rarity with nephilim mother's.

They'd spent a week together as a family once Maddie had been born and according to Maddie's mom, Gabriel had loved her dearly which is why he had left. Gabriel had been hiding out from his family by pretending to be a trickster but he was afraid that he wouldn't be able to hide forever and that, if he stayed with them, he would bring harm to his daughter too. He had warded Maddie's bone's with Enochian sigil's to make her invisible to the angel's who would want her dead, just like he had concealed her birth. He made sure Maddie was protected and then he had left. Maddie's mom had returned back to America to raise Maddie. When Maddie had turned 1, her mom got married. The rest Maddie knew and didn't need her mom to write to her about it.

Before her letters, Maddie had thought that she could have been a Cambion. As soon as Maddie hit 11 years old, she had grown curious about who she was. She threw herself into finding out. It distracted her from the mess of her life and gave her a sense of control. She had learned about angel's and demon's, vampires and monster's. She knew about hunter's and the tricks of the trade. She knew everything but none of it provided any solid evidence about who she was. After her parents death, Maddie had stopped trying to control and keep her powers under wraps and had instead, started to explore them and she had begun to realise the extent of what she was able to do. She was powerful and after researching, she thought that her mom maybe could have been possessed by a demon. Cambion's were said to be of great power and that she was but she had never known for sure until her mother's letters had come along and told her the truth. She was the daughter of Gabriel. The guy little kids dressed up as in nativity plays.

She'd spent her time in the psychiatric unit, honing her abilities. The security of a human mental hospital wouldn't hold her if she had wanted to get out but she hadn't. She hadn't felt ready to face the world alone. She'd utilised her surroundings, feeling safer to find out the true possibilities of her power in the confined space of her sturdy walls.

When Maddie was 18, she knew that she needed to get out of there but she needed a fresh start. Maddie faked her own death. Being a nephilim made it possible. She had staged her own suicide and was even buried. As soon as she'd been buried, she'd fought her way through the dirt and into the fresh air again. She smoothed over the mess she'd made of her grave before moving forward.

Maddie dyed her hair and changed her look. She left behind Madeline Stone at the grave and became someone new. She left America, knowing she needed to get out of there.

She'd travelled all over the place, keeping a low profile and using aliases. She had tried to search for her father, desperate to connect with someone and find a family. After searching for years, she had suspected that he may be dead.

She never stayed in one place for too long and she was always careful but it was almost like Maddie was a beacon for supernatural creatures so she always found herself wound up in something. Maddie sort of became an unwilling hunter. She didn't go out looking for hunts but they always found her. Sometime's factions of demons would try to track her down, not really knowing what she was but aware of her capabilities, but she either outrun them or killed them.

It was only in the last year that Maddie had come back to America. She wasn't better off anywhere else so she had decided to come home. She had decided to stop running and try to find her own version of happiness. 

She had realised that the other nephilim had been searching for her as soon as he started but a lifetime of having people trying to kill you, made her wary. She had soon come to the conclusion that he was just scared though and trying to reach out to someone he had a connection with. She was actually going to him when she'd found the Winchester brother's. Maddie hadn't really stayed in the loop when she was on the run in Europe but since she'd come back to America only a few months ago, she's kept her ear to the ground and did her research on hunter's and the creature's that were common in the US and of course, she had heard about the Winchester brother's. They were famous in the hunting community. The men who'd saved the world more than once and died even more time's. 

She still wanted to connect with Jack. She had been the one to be alone and scared, with no one to help before and it sucked. If she could help him, she wanted too. Maddie was also convinced that he wasn't evil. He was a new born and afraid. He most likely just felt threatened by the Winchester's.

Firstly though, she wanted to make sure the famous hunter's were okay. They were both close to death, but she had fixed them and their car and then transported them to her new home. Which is where she found herself now.

* * *

Maddie relayed her life story the brother's, well at least the cliff notes version but she was ultimately honest.

"Okay", processed Sam, "I don't get it though. You and Jack are both nephilim's born from archangel's but you grew up at the same pace as a regular kid. Jack pop's out as new born 20 something year old".

"I think Gabriel may have been responsible for that. My mom's letter's basically say that before he left, he took every precaution to keep us safe. That included the warding in my bone's, using his grace to protect my mother during the birth but I think he also did something that made me grow normally. My mom had a normal 9 month pregnancy and I grew normally as a kid...although my physical body hasn't changed at all from the age of 21. Being a nephilim, I can feel things that other people can't and that aren't visible to the naked eye. I can feel when my hair is growing and when my skin is renewing. My body hasn't changed a bit in 4 years. My mom didn't specifically mention what he did, just that he protected me and her. I guess that could have been why or maybe not all nephilim's are the same? According to the angel's, my kind should never even exist, so maybe there isn't a standard factory cut out that all of us adhere to. I don't know", admitted Maddie.

"Listen, kid, how do we even know that this is true? Maybe your mom got it wrong and you're something else", interjected Dean.

"No, it's true. It's hard to explain but I can feel it", insisted Maddie.

"I think so too, Dean. I thought that she reminded me of someone when I first saw her and now I realise that it was Gabriel. Maddie looks like his vessel but it's more than that. She has the same mannerisms, the way she talks and walks reminds me of him. Plus, her mother wouldn't have known about Gabriel hiding as the trickster unless he'd told her, himself", added Sam.

"Okay, so if you are who you say you are, how do we know if we can trust you?", asked Dean.

"I never asked you to trust me. I was looking for Jack and I found you guys, half dead and I saved your life. I never said I wanted anything from you. I brought you back here until you woke up and you've woken up, so leave if you want to", scoffed Maddie.

"Can you help us with the nephilim?", asked Sam.

"I'm not going to kill him, if that's what you're asking. I'm going to help him", stated Maddie firmly.

"How do you plan on doing that?", wondered Sam.

"I think he just needs guidance. Part of my power includes empathic psychic abilities and telepathy. I can read people's minds but I can turn it off and I usually keep it turned off because people's thoughts are sacred and I don't like invading that but I do turn to it in emergencies and the empathic abilities are something I can't turn off, I can always sense the way someone is feeling. I can sense their emotion's, their intentions, their aura. All of that means I can get a pretty good idea about the type of person someone is. Although I try not to read people's minds, Jack was searching for me and I needed to know if he was a threat so I looked in his head and all that I saw was fear and sadness. He's alone, his mother is dead and he has no idea what's going on. He felt his connection with me and he's trying to find me because he's looking for help, for someone to turn too. I know he hurt you but he was scared. There was some house right? After he was first born and he threw you out the window but then he walked away. He walked away because he didn't want you dead, he was just afraid of you but when you showed up again, he hurt you badly because he see's you both as a threat. He may look like an adult but he isn't even two weeks old. I know what it's like to be the one alone, not knowing how to deal with this crap. We didn't ask to be nephilim's. I'm pretty much the only person who knows how to help him and I can stop him from going down a bad path", explained Maddie.

"How do we know that you're not just trying to manipulate him so the two of you can run off and end the world together?" frowned Dean.

"If I wanted to end the world, I could do it by myself and if I was some evil monster, don't you think you'd have heard about me by now?", challenged Maddie, "I may be half angel but I'm also half human. This is my home too and I don't want to hurt anyone, I just want to live my life and maybe help Jack live his in the process".

Sam and Dean exchanged looks as they considered what she was saying. They'd been worrying about what they were going to do about Jack and if Maddie could help him, it could be the answer they've been looking for.

"Look, I have to go out for while and I can tell you guys need to talk. Sam, you seem to be feeling okay about me, relatively at ease but Dean, you don't trust me as far as you could throw me. I get it and no doubt you want to talk it through, maybe do some research before you decide whether or not you want to kill me. You can use this place. I have computer's and books and you can talk it out and decide how you feel about leaving Jack alone for me to handle", suggested Maddie, "I'll be back in an hour".

Maddie didn't wait for the brother's to answer and instead, simply disappeared. 

"She's spirited", laughed Sam.

"That's one word for it", grumbled Dean, "What are you thinking?"

"I don't know, I think I believe her. I mean, she's powerful so if she was up to no good, she'd definitely have come under our radar before now. Maybe we should do what she suggested and research her, check out if her stories match up", said Sam.

"Okay, let's do it", agreed Dean.

* * *

"Find anything?" asked Dean. Sam had been appointed internet and book research and Dean was working his way through her make-shift apartment.

"Yeah, actually. Her story checks out, there's details online that she left out though", informed Sam.

"Oh yeah? Like what?", questioned Dean.

"Well I pulled up an old newspaper story about her families death. They were murdered on Maddie's sixth birthday whilst she was out with a friend. Maddie was there when they found the bodies. Poor kid saw her mother and step-father's bodies after they'd been stabbed to death. Although, her younger brother wasn't at the scene of the murder and he's never been found. The police declared it as a armed robbery gone wrong but the perpetrators were found at the scene, unconscious and when they woke, they claimed to have no recollections of the events and reported seeing black smoke so it seems like they were killed by demon's. After that, Maddie was put into the care system so I pulled up her CPS file. She was passed from different foster home's to different kid's homes. She barely stayed in one place for five minutes with one exception, when she was 8 she was fostered by a family who she stayed with for 3 years but she was eventually taken away from them when it was discovered that they were physically abusing her. After that it was more of being passed around until she was 14. At the age of 14 she was admitted to a adolescent psychiatric unit after she attempted suicide. Apparently she insisted that she didn't do it, that some had attacked her but they diagnosed her with psychotic depression. She stayed in the hospital until she was 18 and like she told us, she 'died' at 18. They reported that she'd killed herself and they even buried her but like she told us, she faked her death. I have manged to dig up photo's of her and it's the same girl we met. It's her and she has no police records and no criminal record. It seems like she was locked away for most of her life. Jeez, she's been through a lot of crap", sighed Sam.

"You're telling me. I feel sorry for her, I do but that doesn't make me feel any better. I mean if anyone had an excuse to be bitter about life and want to hurt people, it's her", pointed out Dean.

"What about you, find anything around here?", asked Sam.

"I found the letter's from her mom and they say exactly what Maddie said they did but other than that, nothing", Informed Dean as he made his way over to a filing cabinet, "this is locked". Dean picked the locks to the filing cabinet and inspected what was inside.

"What is it?" wondered Sam.

"I think it's her medical kit or something", said Dean as he started pulling out pill bottle's, stitching kit's and other medical apparatus, "there's some hardcore pills in here, Chlordiazepoxide, Chlorpromazine, Amoxicillin, Clozapine, Valium, lorazepam, Penbritin, pregabalin, lithium, carbamazepine, Tramadol, dihydrocodeine, Oxycodone...Jeez, I don't even recognise half of these".

"Some of them are benzodiazepines which are sedatives used for sleeping problems, anxiety and pain. Some of them are anti-psychotic medication, some are antidepressant medication, some are mood stabilisers, some are antibiotics and some are really hardcore pain killers", recalled Sam.

"Why would someone with the ability to heal, need all of these? It doesn't sit right with me. Maybe she's drugging people ", spoke Dean.

"Yeah but why would she need to drug someone? She's a nephilim, I'm pretty sure she can just knock someone out with the grace if she wanted to", frowned Sam in confusion.

"You know, you could just ask me", interjected Maddie. Both Dean and Sam jumped at the sudden entrance of Gabriel's daughter.

"Okay, why do you have so much medication?", asked Sam.

"You're right, I have the ability heal human's. I can heal angel's, demon's even vampires and werewolves if I want, I can even bring them back from the dead but I can't heal myself. I think it's probably some kind of cosmic joke that I am one of the most powerful being's around but I can't heal my own scrapes. It's something about the mixture of grace and soul, that mixture was never supposed to happen and that seem's to mean that I can't be healed and no one can heal me. Maybe God himself could but he isn't exactly a hands on grandfather, never even met the guy. I do heal at an accelerated rate to human's but I can't completely heal myself, so that's why I have medical supplies and lots of them because in this life, I get injured a lot and I can't exactly go to the hospital and explain why a light glows from my body when it's cut", explained Maddie.

"I get the painkiller's, sedative's and antibiotics for patching yourself up but what do you need the anti-psychotic one's for?", questioned Dean.

"I steal these med's Dean, I just get in there and grab what ever I can. I don't stand their being picky about what I'm stealing", scoffed Maddie.

"Okay, fair enough", nodded Dean.

"So you're going to let me deal with Jack?", asked Maddie.

"Yeah, you can try to help him", agreed Sam.

"But if this goes sideways and he starts hurting people, we handle it", added Dean.

"Why, what are you going to do about it? You can't kill him. If he hurts people, then I'll deal with it", stated Maddie with no room to argue.

"You'll kill him if this goes badly?" asked Dean.

"If it comes to it, I'll do what I have to", sighed Maddie. 

"Okay, that sounds fair", nodded Sam with a reassuring smile.

"I want you to keep us updated though. You don't just get to go off the radar", instructed Dean.

"What are you, my dad?!" scoffed Maddie.

"I don't trust you and I don't trust Jack either. It'll make me feel better and stop me from hunting you", reasoned Dean.

"Oh really? You don't trust me?! Such a big surprise to me, it's not like I can smell the paranoia coming from like a dead fish that's been left in the sun too long", exclaimed Maddie sarcastically, "oh and 'stop me from hunting you'? That's sweet, we both know that you haven't got a chance in hell at killing me sweetheart".

"Okay, we don't need to get worked up over this. If it means anything, I do trust you but you have to understand that when it come's to powerful and potentially dangerous beings, Dean and I are the one's who always try to handle it. It's not in our nature to turn our back on this kind of thing. It would helps us from climbing the walls, wondering what's happening, if you would keep us in the loop", interrupted Sam calmly.

Maddie appraised Sam with her eye's and allowed the emotions that came of Sam in waves, to wash over her. She believed him. She could tell that he didn't want to hurt her.

"Fine", conceded Maddie, "I'll keep you in the loop".

"So what now? We leave you to it?" wondered Dean.

"Yep, see you around", smiled Maddie as she rolled her eye's.

"Are you planning on going straight to Jack?", asked Sam.

"He's not in Ohio anymore. After seeing you guys, he freaked out and he's now in Sweden, I can tell", stated Maddie casually.

"Sweden?!" repeated Sam.

"Yeah, you see, as nephilim's we can snap our finger's and go wherever we want to but Jack isn't even two weeks old so he's not so good with controlling all of this yet. If I had to guess, he just wanted to get away from a threat and accidentally landed himself in Sweden. I'm going to go to him but first, I need to sort myself out. I came here because I thought it would feel safe and like home but it doesn't and if I'm going to help Jack, he'll be staying with me and this place isn't big enough. I'm going to try and find someplace bigger that's out of the way from busy town's so I can help Jack without having him accidentally flatten a whole village", explained Maddie, "But don't worry, I'll reach out to him telepathically first, try to calm him and get him to stay in one place until I get there".

"Fair enough", smiled Sam.

"So, I guess you're going to need my assistance in getting out of here considering there are no entrances", remembered Maddie.

"That would be good", nodded Dean.

* * *

Maddie had taken Sam and Dean to the impala, who was in one piece thanks to Maddie. Dean walked to the car but Sam stayed back a second to talk to Maddie.

"So, you have our number's", began Sam.

"Yep and I'll call you at least 3 times a week to give you updates on Jack", nodded Maddie begrudgingly.

"Thank you, by the way. For saving our lives", clarified Sam.

"Nothing to thank me for. I just did what anyone would do", shrugged Maddie.

"No, trust me when I say, not everyone would. I'm guessing that any experiences you may have had with hunter's probably wasn't great", guessed Sam.

"You can say that again. Every hunter that I've come across has tried to kill me", laughed Maddie.

"Yeah, well, thanks for saving us and not just putting us in the same category as every other hunter", smiled Sam.

They stood in silence for a few seconds and Maddie gazed intensely at Sam before breaking the awkward silence.

"Who was it?", asked Maddie softly.

"Who was what?" Inquired Sam in confusion.

"Who was it that you lost?" inquired Maddie, "Remember what I said about the empathic abilities? Well for me, it's like an extra sense. I can smell, feel, touch the emotions that come off other people. I can see people's souls and I'm not just talking about a ball of light, I can actually see someone's soul as a picture of who that person is. I can sense intentions and aura's, I can read people and grief? Grief is something I'm very familiar with and I can feel it coming from you and Dean like someone can feel being hit by a truck. I wasn't going to ask because it's your own business but I've never felt anything like this before. You've lost a lot of people haven't you? Lost more, recently?"

"Yeah, Dean and I, along with other family, fought Lucifer. He was trying to get to Jack's mom so he could get Jack once he was born and turn him into something dark. Lucifer is out of the picture now but we lost people", admitted Sam quietly.

"I'm sorry, I can tell you're a good guy. I sense it. One of the best that I've come across and it sucks that your life is so miserable", offered Maddie.

"It doesn't suck and I'm not miserable. I mean, at time's it has sucked but I'm lucky, I have Dean", breathed Sam.

"What happened, in the fight with Lucifer?" asked Maddie carefully.

"Well he got trapped in an alternative reality but he dragged our mom with him. Our mom died when we were young but she got brought back just a year ago and now we've lost her again. Then there was Cas, he was an angel and he was our best friend. More like a brother really and Lucifer killed him...I have no idea why I'm telling you all of this. You've just met me and you really don't want to know any of this", sighed Sam with a small smile.

"I think I could help you...Your friend, Cas, what did you do with his vessel's body?", asked Maddie.

"We buried him, why?" frowned Sam.

"I can bring angel's back to life if I have a small amount of their grace. If Cas' vessel is still intact, I should be able to draw out the little bit of grace that gets left behind in a vessel. I can use the little bit of grace to bring him back in full fighting form. I can't make any promises but I've done it before", explained Maddie.

"You think, will this work?", asked Sam, scared to hope.

"Yeah, if all goes well", smiled Maddie.

"He's at the bunker, where we live", told Sam.

"I'll take us all there, it'll be quicker than driving", smiled Maddie.

* * *

Dean wasn't so sure about this. It wasn't that he didn't want Cas back because he wanted that more than anything else but he still wasn't convinced that Maddie was legit. She was a stranger. Why would she help Cas or them? He didn't trust her but if there was even the smallest chance that she could bring Cas back than he had to take it but he wasn't getting his hopes up. 

Maddie had brought them all, including baby, back to the bunker. Dean and Sam were busy digging up Cas' body whilst Maddie hung back in the bunker to give them some privacy. 

When they dug up Cas' wrapped body, the carried him through to the room they'd set up for him in the bunker. 

Sam went to fetch Cas some fresh clothes. His usual get up of a suit and trench coat, just not the one's that had been under ground for over a week.

With Sam gone, it left Dean and Maddie. Maddie focused on the covered body of their lost friend. She stepped closer, placing her hand on the body.

"I've healed his vessel so it's ready for him", explained Maddie.

"Why are you doing this?" Demanded Dean quietly.

"I know that you're still... _apprehensive_  about me. I understand. I can tell that you've had a complicated life but I'm not hiding anything. I truly just want to bring your friend back", reassured Maddie. 

"You don't even know us or Cas, why would you do anything for us?" Asked Dean.

Maddie sighed, considering her answer, "Despite what you think, I'm not a monster and I know what it's like to lose your family. I've lost everyone that I ever cared about. My mother and father were killed because demon's wanted me. I didn't know that I could bring people back until it was too late. Maybe I could still bring them back but as long as their related to me, they're never going to be safe. They're going to keep getting killed, because of me. And my brother...he went missing. I tried to find him but I never could, I failed", choked Maddie as she fought to maintain her composure. 

"I couldn't save my own family but maybe I can save other's. I genuinely want to help you and Sam because as shocking as you nay find it, I don't get off on watching other's suffer", finished Maddie.

"Okay", nodded Dean.

Sam returned with a pile of clothes and Maddie pulled away the cover that Cas was wrapped in. She hovered her hand over Cas' mouth and her hand shook slightly with exertion as her face pinched in concentration. Cas' mouth opened as a sliver of glowing grace climbed out. Maddie held the small remains of Cas' grace in her palm. It was a tiny amount but Maddie seemed pleased with it. She cupped the grace before lifting a hand above the one that was holding it. As she pointed her hand towards the grace, trails of the same light began to swirl from the tips of her fingers. The new threads of grace began to bind with remains of the grace Maddie extracted from Cas. This went on for a couple of minutes until the tiny remains of Cas' grace became a large ball of glowing energy. It look kind of like a soul but instead of pure white light, it was the blueish white light of an angel's grace, of Cas' grace. 

Maddie stopped adding to the grace and took the ball of energy to Cas' face and guided into his mouth. Cas' whole body began to glow and Maddie placed a hand on his head, closing her eye's and concentrating hard. 

Eventually, the glowing stopped and Maddie removed her hand. 

Nothing happened and Sam and Dean's stomach fell as they feared it hadn't worked. Dean sighed.

"Wait", instructed Maddie as she felt the disappointment rolling through the brothers.

They waited with baited breath. 

Finally the familiar eye's of their fallen friend snapped open, glowing angel blue before fading to the regular blue of Jimmy's vessel. 

"Cas", whispered Sam as a relieved smile spread across him face. 

"You're alive", added Dean, the joy clear in his voice. 

Cas frowned and began to sit up, almost as if checking that he could. He stood up, mentally assessing his body. He felt stronger than he had in years. 

There was a rumble of sound and a ruffle of feathers as the lighting dimmed. Cas pushed out his chest as the healed and strong wings spread a dark shadow across the wall.

Cas was really back.

 


	2. Fight

_I don't know how I got here but I refuse to stay_  
_I betrayed myself when I let others have their way_  
_But I am holding on, my finger on the pulse_  
_The sound of my heart pounding tells me there’s still hope_  
  
_But people don’t like when you put up a fight_  
_And slowly, ever so slowly, I am losing mine_

_\- Fight, Icon For Hire_

* * *

Cas sat patiently as he listened to the Winchester's explaining what had happened. Maddie wandered idly around the bunker's library as the brother's filled their honorary brother in on all the details.

"So, she's a Nephilim too?" Questioned Cas.

"Not just any Nephilim, she's Gabriel's daughter", confirmed Dean.

"She has a name", called Maddie as she traced her fingers over the spine of a book.

Maddie strolled over to where the other's were sitting before extending a hand.

"Madeline Stone but I prefer Maddie", introduced Maddie.

"Maddie", nodded Cas as he shook her hand, "I should thank you for saving my life. More than that, you've restored me to my full strength. My wings have been damaged for a long time. Now they are as strong as ever".

"You're welcome, it's no big deal", shrugged Maddie.

"So, you believe you can help Jack?", inquired Cas.

"I'm going to give it a whirl", nodded Maddie.

"I've been thinking-", began Sam.

"Well, that's never a good sign", interrupted Dean.

"Shut up, anyway, I was thinking that maybe Maddie and Jack should stay here in the bunker", suggested Sam.

"Excuse me?!" demanded Dean.

"Think about it. Maddie, you said that you needed to find somewhere that was suitable for you and Jack while you were helping him. Somewhere that was secluded and safe. This place is pretty much in the middle of nowhere, it's strong and we have a million resources. It's probably the most ideal place and we can be here to help", reasoned Sam.

"Are you forgetting that the 'Jack' tried to kill us?!" exclaimed Dean.

"Yeah, but only because he's afraid of us. It's likely that he already trust's Maddie because he's searching for her and he might listen to her if she tells him that we don't want to hurt him. Cas will be here too, and Jack already saved him before he was even born. I think Jack already cares about Cas because he was trying to help him and Kelly. You have to admit, this is probably the best place for him", countered Sam.

"Yeah, thanks for the offer, but I'm not so sure about this", hesitated Maddie.

"How come?", wondered Sam.

"No offence, but I don't know you guys and I work better alone. The last time I lived with other people, I was 14 and after that I was placed in a mental hospital where they weren't too liberal with socialisation. I've been on my own a while and I'm more comfortable with that", shrugged Maddie.

"But you plan on taking in Jack and living with him?" questioned Cas.

"Yeah, well, that's different. He's not a human, he's like me", explained Maddie.

"We wouldn't intrude or meddle, this is a big place and you can stay away from us if you want but it's convenient", stated Sam.

"Look, even if I was okay with this which I'm sort of not, could you even talk to Jack and convince him that we're not threats?", asked Dean.

"I guess I could", considered Maddie.

"So, you're on board with this?", asked Sam to Dean.

"Well, I don't really like it, but it makes sense logically. I can't see anything good coming from Jack roaming around the streets", conceded Dean.

"I think this is a good plan. I wanted to help Jack and Kelly. I failed Kelly, she's gone but she accepted that was a likely possibility and she was willing to make that sacrifice for her son. She trusted me to take care of him if she couldn't and I want to keep my word. I think she would like you, Maddie and with all of us helping him, Jack has a chance", added Cas.

"It makes sense", nodded Sam, "Dean, Maddie, are you in?"

"I guess it's not the worst idea ever, but if Jack does start trying to hurt us or anyone else, that's it", bargained Dean.

"Sounds fair", smiled Sam, "Maddie".

"Fine, but I do as I please", shrugged Maddie.

* * *

Sam, Dean and Cas waited nervously in the bunker. Maddie had gone to talk to Jack which left those remaining in the bunker to sit and fidget until they came back.

"Sam, Dean, I'm so sorry about Mary", offered Cas, breaking the silence.

"I was thinking, maybe Maddie could help us with that or Jack for that matter. Maybe if we could just open up a tear into that world again, we could get mom back", wondered Sam.

"That sounds too risky", said Dean.

"It would be extremely risky. You would have to go into the alternative dimension to find Mary and when you were searching for her, anything could get through to our world. It could lead to a whole host of issue's and if Mary returns, there's the risk of Lucifer returning, too", explained Cas apologetically.

"What are we supposed to do? Leave her there?", asked Sam, the last sentence broken with emotion.

"I don't think we have a choice, Sammy. Not without risking another apocalypse", sighed Dean.

"But Lucifer...what if he takes his anger at being left there, out on mom. I know what it's like to be Lucifer's personal stress ball and it's...", began Sam before trailing off as his voice shook.

Dean placed a hand on Sam's shoulder, the only comfort he could offer. Dean couldn't reassure him that nothing bad would happen because their history told them otherwise. If he was honest, Dean had been worrying about Mary and Lucifer in that alternative universe, himself.

"It's impossible to say for certain what will happen, but this situation is nothing like the cage. It's another realm, but it's still earth, it's not hell. Mary has a chance of being able to fight or to hide, she has the entire world to seek cover in. She's a hunter too, she's resourceful and smart. There's also Bobby, who was there to help me, so I'm sure he'll help Mary. This isn't the same as when you fell into the cage, Sam. Mary won't be going through what you did. She's not in hell and she's not spending an eternity being tor- There's every chance that she will be fine", stated Cas, attempting to reassure the brother's. To Cas' surprise, he seemed successful. They'd managed to stay alive with Lucifer roaming their world, so maybe Mary could stay alive with Lucifer roaming around their world. Sam knew the chance that Mary could be killed was probable, but he decided to focus on the possibility that she was alive.

Sam didn't know if he'd ever see Mary again, but if he didn't, the idea that she could maybe live a life in that other world, made him feel better. Maybe she could be happy.

"They're close", announced Cas.

"Maddie and Jack?" Inquired Sam.

"Yes, they're both returning", confirmed Cas.

"Here goes nothing", sighed Dean.

* * *

Sam, Dean, Cas, Maddie and Jack were all situated in the war room. Sam was sitting across from Maddie and Jack, as was Cas. Maddie had guided Jack to a seat and took a seat right next to him. Dean was the only person standing up, still ready to act if there was any threat.

"So, can he talk?" inquired Dean.

"Yes, _Jack_ can talk. Right, sweetie?", coaxed Maddie.

Jack looked at the group nervously as he curled in on himself.

"It's okay, Jack, you don't have to be afraid. You can sense people's emotions, right? And their intentions? So I know you can tell that we don't want to hurt you. Dean may be a little apprehensive, but he's just nervous. If we don't hurt him, he won't hurt us either. You're safe here. I want to help you and Cas, you remember him? He helped you and your mom", reassured Maddie.

"Castiel", nodded Jack, "You saved me. My mother is dead".

"That's not your fault. It's what usually happens with our kind", explained Maddie.

"Your mother was aware of the risks involved. She knew that giving birth was likely to kill her, but she accepted it because she wanted you to be brought into the world. Your mother loved you", offered Cas.

Jack nodded. His movements were rigid and mechanical. Maddie guessed that it was due to his limited experience of walking and talking or being alive in general.

"I'm sorry for hurting you. I thought you wanted to hurt me", stuttered Jack to Sam and Dean.

"No hard feelings", smiled Sam.

"We're the same?" Questioned Jack to Maddie.

"Yeah, we're both archangel Nephilim's. Our father's were brother's. We're family", nodded Maddie.

"Do you hear the voices too?" Asked Jack.

"Voices? That doesn't sound good", groaned Dean.

"What do you mean, Jack?" Inquired Maddie softly.

"After I was born, there was so much noise in my head. Thousands of voices filtering through until it was too much. It wouldn't stop. The only voice that was clear was yours. That's why I looked for you", explained Jack.

"I think what you heard, was people's thoughts. We have the ability to hear people's thoughts, sense their emotion's and know everything about a person's life. It can be very overwhelming if you don't know how to control it. I can teach you how to control it. It's possible to block the thoughts out and even let some in but not other's. You'll learn", explained Maddie.

"I would like that", nodded Jack gratefully.

"Have you eaten yet? Or slept?", wondered Maddie, "we may be half angel and have strong abilities but we are half human too. We still have human needs like food and sleep. We can go without it for much longer than human's can but it's uncomfortable and it affects our strength".

"I haven't done either of those things", told Jack.

"Okay, we'll get you something to eat and then you should get some rest. We're going to be staying here a while, in Sam, Dean and Cas' home. It's big and safe from supernatural threats. It's an ideal place for us to find our feet. When you're ready, we can find somewhere else to live. I know you already know how to use your abilities in self defence, but the more subtle things like blocking out other's thoughts is more tricky, so it might take a little time for me to learn you but these guys are here to help us to", stated Maddie clearly.

Sam watched Maddie interact with Jack. The way she was with Jack was very different to the Maddie they first met. Maddie had come across as head strong, feisty, sarcastic, guarded and with a devil may care attitude. She seemed warm and friendly too, but there was a hardness to her which disappeared with Jack. She spoke to him like a teacher talks to a student or like a parent talks to their child. She was soft, gentle and nurturing and Sam noted that there were many sides to Maddie. Just as there were many sides to her father.

Jack nodded at Maddie's words.

"Mind if I use your kitchen?" Asked Maddie.

"Sure", nodded Sam.

Maddie guided Jack into the kitchen with a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"So, what are we thinking?" Questioned Dean, once Maddie and Jack were in the other room.

"Jack is very frightened. I imagine it would be jarring to be thrust into this world the way he was. I don't think he's a threat, so long as he doesn't see us as a threat", stated Cas.

"Maddie seems good with him. I think with her help and guidance, he won't cause any kind of problems", added Sam.

"Maddie helping Jack doesn't exactly reassure me considering I don't trust her either", sighed Dean.

"She brought Cas back to us, Dean", Sam pointed out.

"And I'm grateful for that, but we don't know her", reasoned Dean.

"You said you were up for them staying here", frowned Sam.

"I am but it doesn't mean I like it", groused Dean.

* * *

Maddie walked back to Sam, Dean and Cas about an hour later.

"Jack's asleep and he should stay that way for a while. I've taken away his nightmare's and temporarily cut off his link with other's thoughts. It's just a temporary thing, he'll need to learn how to do it himself, but for now it should allow him to have a good 8 hours or so", announced Maddie.

"That's good", replied Cas.

"The poor kid doesn't know whether he's up or down at the minute", sighed Maddie.

"Why are you so keen to help him?" Wondered Dean.

"Like I said, he's family and I know what it's like to be alone with no idea how to deal with who you are", shrugged Maddie.

"Does he trust us?" Asked Sam.

"Trust might be a bit of an overstatement. He's still wary of you, but he does trust me and he trust's Cas so he believes us when we say no one will hurt him", replied Maddie.

"I'm not sure if I buy the innocent act he's putting on. If he was so sad that his mom died, why didn't he bring her back? Come to think of, couldn't he have stopped her dying in the first place?" Suggested Dean.

"He's a newborn, he may not know how and Kelly dying wasn't his fault. I'm pretty sure I'd die if I had to push a kid who was the physical size of a 25 year old, out of my vagi-", began Maddie.

"Okay, we get it", interrupted Dean with grimace.

"Sorry, does the word vagina make you uncomfortable, Dean? I'm sure you don't feel uncomfortable when you're seeing naked women in porn but hearing a woman refer to her own anatomy makes you squirm like a 5 year old", scolded Maddie.

"Jeez, can we just drop it?" Moaned Dean.

"What about penis, does that make you uncomfortable too?", teased Maddie.

"Do you ever think before you talk or do you just say whatever comes into your head?" Grumbled Dean.

"The latter, it's more fun", smirked Maddie.

"Has any one ever told you that you have impulse control issues?" Asked Dean sarcastically.

"Yes actually, about 6 different shrinks have but at least two of them were demon's which has to make you question the validity of their assessment", replied Maddie happily.

"You know, we're doing you a favour and I'm already sick of your attitude. Maybe it was a mistake to let you stay here", snapped Dean.

"Dean...", began Sam.

"Let me stay here?!", interrupted Maddie, "I was perfectly happy to find a place to stay with Jack away from here and are you really flipping out over this? Jeez, calm down. I was just messing with you, how was I to know that you were completely unable to take a joke. Did you have milk with your bitch flakes this morning? God, lighten up!".

"It's not a lot to ask to be treated with respect!", yelled Dean.

"Respect is earned Dean, not a given", scowled Maddie, "God, I don't need this! I didn't ask you for anything. In fact leaving looks pretty good to me right now. This wasn't even my idea!"

"You're right, it was mine", interjected Sam, "And I still think it's a good plan".

"I agree. I need to take care of Jack and if he's here, it's an ideal situation. I made Kelly a promise and I intend to keep it", added Cas.

"Exactly. With Cas' relationship with Kelly, Cas is almost like a father figure to Jack and Maddie is his family and probably the only person who can understand how he must feel. Plus, if any big bad's know about Jack, they'll want to find him and manipulate him for their own cause. I don't have to tell you that it would be bad for that to happen. The bunker is impenetrable to most supernatural creatures and one of the safest places for Jack to stay. Also, we're hunters, so we can help if any threats come along. I mean, Dagon wasn't the only heavy weight out there. There are other's out there who possibly already know about Jack. Maddie and Jack, staying in the bunker is an ideal situation. Between the 4 of us, we can help him and keep him safe. Stop other people from manipulating him into going dark side. You already know this, Dean. We all agreed on it", reasoned Sam.

"I know! I know...It doesn't mean I have to like it", huffed Dean.

"Maddie?" asked Sam.

"Fine, I'll stay here until things are more stable in the Jack department but I'm not going to take any of your crap, Dean. If I'm staying here, it's not going to be with me walking around on eggshells, trying not to rub you up the wrong way. If you don't like me, I'm cool with staying away from each other", snapped Maddie before storming off.

* * *

Sam and Cas stood aimlessly. After Maddie had stormed off, Dean soon followed and took reprieve in the kitchen.

"That didn't go very well", stated Cas.

"Tell me about it", sighed Sam.

"Maybe you should talk to Dean and I should talk to Maddie", suggested Cas, "We need to removed this hostility before Jack wakes. It will make him uncomfortable".

"Sounds like a plan", nodded Sam.

* * *

"Dean?", called Sam as he entered the kitchen. Dean was sat at the table, swirling the coffee in his mug.

"You found me", grumbled Dean.

"What was that?", questioned Sam.

"Why don't you ask her?" retorted Dean. Sam sighed and sat across from his big brother.

"Dean, you pretty much went off over nothing", said Sam.

"She was giving me attitude", shrugged Dean.

"So?! That's usually an attribute that you admire in a person. Come on, I know that's not what this is about", coaxed Sam.

"I just don't trust her, or Jack for that matter. So, maybe it makes me a little snappy when I have to live with two people I don't trust. Particularly when one of them tried to kill me", shot Dean.

"Dean, just over a year ago we had God, Lucifer and Metatron in the bunker. Lucifer possessed me and tortured me for 180 years and he had a temper tantrum in my room. Metatron murdered you which led to you becoming a knight of hell and he sat around drinking our beer. There have been plenty of times when we have had people we don't trust in the bunker. Plus, Maddie gave us Cas back. Doesn't that give her all sorts of props?" reminded Sam.

"Okay, maybe I did go a little heavy but she went off too. I wasn't the only one who over reacted", argued Dean.

"Can you blame her? She's been isolated for most of her life. She's not used to being around other people like this and she probably felt persecuted by you. She might have a hard time trusting us, too", Sam speculated, "Are you sure this is actually about Maddie and Jack?"

"What else would it be about?"

"I don't know, maybe losing mom", muttered Sam, trying to avoid riling Dean.

Dean sighed and squeezed the bridge of his nose, "I don't know. I guess I'm just a little wound tight".

"You can talk to me, you know?", told Sam.

"I know but you know me, Sammy, I'd rather just get on with things, but I'll try to be more civil with our new house guests", compromised Dean.

"Okay", smiled Sam.

* * *

Cas wondered through the bunker, checking the many bedrooms until he finally came across Maddie. She was unpacking several bags. Cas had never seen her collect her things but Cas assumed she'd transferred them here using her power at some point.

"Maddie, may I come in?", asked Cas.

"Sure", agreed Maddie as she continued placing her things around.

"I wanted to talk to you about Dean", approached Cas.

"Nothing to talk about", stated Maddie as her expression darkened.

"Dean's a good man, but he's led a difficult life. It's hard for him to trust people", explained Cas.

"A lot of people go through bad crap but it isn't an excuse to be an ass. I mean, he doesn't have to trust me but he could at least be civil. I can sense the hostility coming from him and I don't just mean from our little spat. I sensed it from the start. It's practically dripping off him and I'm not going to be made to feel like I should let him talk to me however he wants because he's doing me some kind of favour. Beside's, I'm guessing Sam's been through a lot too but he's not fantasising about chopping my head of at the next available opportunity", argued Maddie.

"Sam and Dean are different people. Sam has been through horrible things but he somehow manages to maintain hope. I don't know how he does, considering the hand he's been dealt but he does. He still believes in good triumphing over evil. He believes in forgiveness. He believes that even people who have done horrible things can still be reached. He still chooses to try and see the good in people, even though he's too often been presented with the worst of people. There have only been few times when I've known Sam to lose hope and it's very disconcerting. It's something I admire about him. Dean doesn't hold the same faith though and for good reason. If there is anything you need to know about the Winchester's, it's that family is everything to them. Dean took the responsibility for Sam's welfare from a very young age. He see's it as his job. Due to the world they live in, there have been far to many times that it became impossible for him to keep Sam safe. There have been many moments when Dean was forced to face life without Sam or where he had to watch his brother go through many painful experience's. He takes the failings of keeping Sam safe as his responsibility too. He blames himself. I am lucky enough that the Winchester's call me family and they trust me but many years ago, I broke their trust. At the time, I thought I was acting for the greater good but I was wrong and it's the biggest regret of my long life. I hurt Sam and I betrayed them. So you see, even people who they like and have adopted as their own have still betrayed and hurt them. They forgave me and I worked for their trust again but I'm telling you this to show you that Dean is constantly on guard. He's constantly aware of the threats that exist. Sam is aware of this too but his way to deal with it is to grasp onto the good he see's in the world and Dean's way of dealing with it is by treating everyone who he doesn't know and is a potential threat, as someone who could hurt them. You are living with the people Dean values most and I'm sure that's extremely difficult for him. Living with people who hold the power to break his family is a big challenge for him", explained Cas.

Maddie scrutinised Cas before physically sagging. 

"I get that and maybe I was a little defensive too. It's just...", trailed Maddie.

"It's just what? You can talk to me. After all, we're sort of family too. Gabriel was my brother", reassured Cas.

"It's challenging to live with the ability to sense how someone feels about you. I spent a long time getting treated like crap by people and sensing their...animosity towards me and I got to the point where I promised myself that I wasn't going to let that happen any longer. I spent a long time developing a thick skin and sometimes I just get a little bit snappy when I know people have negative feelings towards me. It's just a defense mechanism, I guess", admitted Maddie.

"I understand...perhaps you and Dean clash because you share certain similarities", grinned Cas.

"I wouldn't go that far", smirked Maddie.

"So, will you join us for a drink?", asked Cas.

"Sure", agreed Maddie.

* * *

Maddie followed Cas through to the library, where Sam and Dean were sitting.

"Hey", smiled Sam.

"Can I grab some coffee?" Asked Maddie.

"Sure, you don't have to ask", nodded Sam.

Maddie strolled into the kitchen and Dean got up from his seat.

"I'm going to get a beer, want anything?" Questioned Dean.

"A beer would be good", requested Sam.

"Cas?", asked Dean.

"No thank you, my past experiences have taught me that I should probably avoid alcohol", stated Cas.

Sam and Dean both huffed a laugh. 

"Be nice", instructed Sam as Dean went to leave.

"Always am, Sammy", grinned Dean.

Dean walked into the kitchen where Maddie was pouring herself a drink.

"Can't you just magic a drink?" wondered Dean.

"What?", frowned Maddie.

"You know, just click your fingers and have a drink appear in front of you?", expanded Dean.

"I can but I don't like too. I personally don't find 'clicking my finger's' and instantly getting whatever I need, satisfying. I may be half archangel but half of me is human too and I like to live like one. Obviously I use my powers a lot but not for everything. I don't usually use my powers when I'm hunting either", shrugged Maddie.

"Really? Nephilim abilities sound like they'd be extremely useful in a hunt", stated Dean.

"Most of the hunts weren't exactly difficult to handle. If I was facing off with a Cambion or something, then the power would be useful but most of your everyday hunts, I can handle just fine without", explained Maddie.

"I respect that", nodded Dean, "Listen, I'm sorry about before".

"It's okay, I haven't exactly been all rainbows and sunshine myself", shrugged Maddie.

"If this is going to work, we need to try and be on the same page", said Dean.

"I know. It's just, you have no idea how it is to walk around knowing exactly how people feel about you. It can be hard to be civil with someone who you know doesn't like you but I will be, we have to be in this situation", admitted Maddie.

"I don't dislike you", protested Dean.

"Come on", scoffed Maddie.

"It's true, it's nothing personal. I've been bitten on the ass more than once by working with people who I don't really know. Hell, I've been bit on the ass working with people I do know. I'm not entirely comfortable with this situation but I didn't need to take it out on you. From now on, unless you give me a reason to act otherwise, I'll be less..."

"Less of a uptight dick?", offered Maddie with a smirk.

"Not the phrase I was going to use but something along that line, yeah", laughed Dean.

"Okay and I'll be less...snarky too", agreed Maddie.

* * *

After Maddie and Dean had talked things through, they returned to Castiel and Dean. Maddie had checked on Jack and confirmed he'd be resting until the morning and then the four of them decided to trade in the coffee for alcohol. Even Cas accepted a beer. 

Now, it was getting late and Dean was yawning.

"I'm going to hit the sack. You should sleep too, Sam", yawned Dean.

"I'll go soon, I just want to do 5 minutes of research", argued Sam.

"All you do is research, nerd", teased Dean, "Just don't stay up all night". 

"I think I'm going to head to my room and watch netflix", told Cas as he stood to leave too. 

Both Cas and Dean left, leaving Sam and Maddie alone. 

"Aren't you tired?" Asked Sam.

"Not really. I have insomnia. I usually run on an hour a night",shrugged Maddie, "You?" 

"I just want to look some stuff up before I head to bed", explained Sam.

"I could help? It would give me something to do", offered Maddie.

"You wouldn't mind?" Questioned Sam.

"Not at all", smiled Maddie.

* * *

"So, you want to research alternative realities?", approached Maddie.

"Yeah, my mom is in one and Cas has made it clear that opening one up would be to dangerous, but I just want to know as much as a can about the subject", admitted Sam.

"I get that, I imagine a lot of the texts in this place will be purely theoretic. Experiencing alternative realities is quite rare", replied Maddie.

"Theory is better than nothing", stated Sam.

"Okay, lets get to it then", nodded Maddie. 

* * *

Maddie and Sam were looking through different texts for over an hour in companionable silence. 

"Hey, do you know when you said that as a Nephilim, you can read people? Their thoughts, memories, emotions etc? Do you block out the memories like you do someone's thoughts?" Wondered Sam.

"Are you worried I know all of your sordid secrets?" Questioned Maddie with a quirked eyebrow and a grin.

"Something like that", laughed Sam.

"I block it out as much as I can but there are certain situations or clauses that make it harder", explained Maddie, "If people have lived extraordinary lives then their memories and the emotions attached to those memories can be more intense than your average person and that gets harder to block. Or say, if someone has been through something similar to what I have, it's like the emotional connection makes it harder to block out to".

"So has anything come through with us?", wondered Sam.

"Yeah, bits and pieces...Sorry", offered Maddie.

"It's okay, it's not your fault. Thanks for trying to preserve our privacy", smiled Sam, "What type of things have been coming through?"

"I couldn't help but know about you and the demon blood. Like I said, an emotional connection makes it harder and although it's a completely different situation, I can kind of identify with that. I mean, until I was 16, I didn't know I was a nephilim. I just knew that I wasn't quite human and I always felt...impure, tainted. It didn't help once I knew what I was, I knew pretty much every angel out there considered me an abomination and wanted to kill me. So, you can see the parallels between both of us growing up believing that we were somehow wrong", explained Maddie.

"Yeah, I can see that", nodded Sam.

"There's...I know about your history with Lucifer too. I didn't mean too but you saved the world and spent centuries in hell...that's not something you come across everyday. There's no one like you on the earth which makes your memories, understandable, more intense. I don't think having his child in your home helps. It probably brings a lot of unwanted stuff up for you and that stops me from being able to severe the connection", admitted Maddie cautiously. 

"Oh", realised Sam as he dropped his head.

"I'm sorry", repeated Maddie.

"It's not your fault...it has been a little harder to keep it together lately. We encountered Lucifer again recently and now Jack's around", admitted Sam.

"How come you fought to help Jack? Dean wanted Jack and I gone but you fought to give us both a chance, why? Why would you bother trying to help Jack when he's Lucifer's son, when it causes so much...torment for you?", wondered Maddie.

"It's not Jack's fault, he didn't ask to be Lucifer's son", protested Sam.

"I know that and I'm sure you know that logically too but most people aren't able to process logic when their emotions take over. No one would blame you if you wanted to be as far away from Jack as possible", stated Maddie.

"It's not always the easiest thing, but Jack is a victim in this. He never asked to be born, just like Kelly didn't ask for the devil to possess her boyfriend. Just like I never asked for a demon to bleed into my mouth when I was a baby. They're innocent parties. If I can help Jack, it's one kid who maybe won't have to go through hell", shrugged Sam.

"You're a pretty amazing guy", told Maddie casually.

"Not really", blushed Sam.

"I don't mean to be weird or make you awkward but you are. Take it from someone who's an expert at reading people", insisted Maddie.

"I can't decide whether it would be a blessing or a curse to know what type of person someone is, instantly", thought Sam.

"It's one of the less annoying and more useful features of being a nephilim. I can instantly tell if people are a threat to me and I can also tell if they're a nice person or not", considered Maddie.

"What's it like?", wondered Sam.

"There are different factors to it and it can be a little hard to describe because it isn't unusual for me. It's like an extra sense. I sense people's aura's, soul's, intentions and emotions and all of them together give me a good idea of who a person is", explained Maddie.

"You can see people's souls? Don't souls just look like a ball of light?" Questioned Sam.

"To you but not to me. A humans soul is what makes a human who they are. Without a soul, they're robots. A soul defines everything about a person. Most people would see it as a light but I can...sort of read it, I guess. I can see souls and I can see what that soul is like. It's similar with aura's. Most people think reading aura's is some new age, hippy stuff but it's actual true. Aura's are just human energy fields that represent themselves as colours. Most people's aura's involve multiple colors but it is the dominant colour that gives you insight to someone's personality. Then, being able to sense someone's emotions helps to gauge a person too and sensing someone's intentions helps you to know if someone has malicious intent", explained Maddie.

"So, what's your assessment on us?" Laughed Sam nervously.

"Well, you have a yellow aura. Dean has a red aura and Cas has a rainbow aura. It's rare to see a rainbow aura but it's not too surprising as rainbow aura's are often associated with healers and Cas is angel so it makes sense", explained Maddie, "As for your souls; yours is interesting actually. I've never seen a soul that's been this battered before. It's awful and by all accounts, you should be an incoherent mess but it's so bright. Easily the brightest soul I've ever seen. I can tell you're a good guy, with a big heart but possibly, an even bigger guilt complex. You're academic and sensitive but there's tough side of you too. I wouldn't want to be the monsters you hunt, that's for sure but in general, your soul is pure. You know how demon's are made, right? Years of being twisted and tortured in hell taints are human soul and molds them into something dark and malevolent. I know a little about Lucifer but I do know that a soul that was abused as much as yours was, should have turned into a demon or something dark but it didn't. It never broke, it's still so bright and so...not evil".

Sam looked down sheepishly at Maddie's evaluation of him. 

"Sorry. I probably just made things super awkward. This kind of thing is normal for me. Seeing someone and knowing what makes them who they are is an everyday thing for me, just like seeing what goes on around them is a regular thing for humans. You wouldn't think twice about noting what colour someone's hair was or the car they were driving because it's normal to you. This, for me, is as normal as that and I forget that not everyone is going to respond positively to me telling them about their souls", apologized Maddie.

"No, it's okay. I asked, it's just weird, the way you describe it. I mean, a demon bled into my mouth, how 'pure' can I really be?" Frowned Sam.

"The soul reflects who a person is. The demon blood didn't make you a bad person", shrugged Maddie.

"It must have been intense, growing up with all these abilities", stated Sam.

"Intense is one word", laughed Maddie. Maddie's smile faltered.

"What's wrong?" Asked Sam.

"It's past midnight, it's father's day. Father's day tends to get me thinking. You knew Gabriel?", questioned Maddie quietly.

"Yeah, I guess", nodded Sam.

"I searched for him for a long time. I guess I knew there's a chance that I'd never get the chance to meet him. It's just, he's such a huge part of who I am and I know nothing about him. I've read the bible, the ancient texts and all that jazz but it's all about archangel Gabriel. I've never been able to get to know what the person Gabriel was like", explained Maddie.

"We had a few run ins with Gabriel at first. He was masquerading as a trickster. We didn't exactly get of to the best of starts, he liked messing with us. He actually trapped us in a fake reality, a kind of TV world. We were in Dr sexy, a Japanese game show and I was in a commercial for herpes cream", laughed Sam.

"It sort of makes sense", smirked Maddie.

"What makes sense?" wondered Sam.

"The whole trickster thing. I guess I get it from him. There was a guy, a really bad guy, he wasn't a supernatural monster but he was a monster and I...sorted him out. I didn't kill him but the guy was terrified of spiders, I mean arachnophobia isn't the word for the hatred the guy had for them so I decided to trap him in a sort of 'pocket universe'. A fake realty that was real to him. Let's just say he'll live out the rest of his life in a universe full of giant sized spiders crawling all over him. Sometimes if I'm having a bad day, I'll check in and see how he's doing and seeing him cowering in the corner always manages to cheer me up", laughed Maddie. 

"Brutal", laughed Sam, "you're definitely your fathers daughter".

"It's kind of nice, knowing that we have something in common. A connection", smiled Maddie.

"Just so you know, Gabriel was one of the good guys. In the beginning we weren't on the best of terms with him and we didn't even know he was an archangel but in the end, he helped us and he chose humanity. His entire family was divided. Lucifer and Michael wanted a smack down which would wipe out half of the world and Gabriel stood up to his older brother's in the end. He chose humanity and helped Dean and I to beat Lucifer. He gave us what we needed to end the apocalypse and then faced Lucifer so we could escape. He died at Lucifer's hands but he saved our life in the process and helped us save everyone. Gabriel wasn't perfect, no one is, not even God himself but he was a good guy. You can be proud to be his daughter and from what I know of him, I think he'd have been really proud of you. I mean, you survived in incredible circumstances and you did it by yourself, you didn't go dark even when things got tough. He'd have been proud", offered Sam.

Maddie turned away from Sam and clenched her jaw. She focused on her breathing and finally managed to take control of her emotions.

"Thank you, that really means a lot", smiled Maddie with watery eye's.

"You know, Cas would probably have a whole lot more to give you in regards to your father. He is an angel and your dad's brother", suggested Sam.

"I'll do that some time", nodded Maddie, "there's something about you that makes you easy to talk to. I'm not usually this chatty".

"It's probably the beer we've been drinking", smirked Sam.

"That's true", laughed Maddie, "Hey, I can tell you're tired. Don't let me keep you up".

"It's not you, I just don't feel like sleeping right now", shrugged Sam.

"Nightmares?", asked Maddie.

"Did you pick that up too?", wondered Sam.

"No, I just guessed. I mean, I know that you're exhausted but you're dead set against going to sleep. You're a hunter and not your regular one at that. You've seen awful things. Nightmares seems like a safe bet", explained Maddie.

"Yeah, well, just recently we had a lot go on", admitted Sam.

"I could help you, you know? I can prevent you from having nightmares. If you want of course", offered Maddie.

"It's okay, you don't have to do that", stated Sam with a yawn.

"It's not a big deal. A hand to your forehead is all it would take to send you into a nice peaceful sleep but it's 100% up to you", smiled Maddie.

"Okay then, thanks", agreed Sam.

* * *

Maddie walked away from Sam Winchester's room after easing him into a dreamless sleep. Maddie liked Sam and she didn't often like people. Even when someone's intentions seemed innocent, she never fully let her guard down. She had grown accustomed to being a lone wolf and she didn't really socialise with people or bother talking to them too much but Sam was different. Maddie somehow knew she could trust him. It wasn't just that he was kind and a good person. She'd come across many kind people before and all of the people in the bunker were good people. She could sense it in Sam, Dean and Cas. They were good people who'd lost a lot and sacrificed more but they were also brave, warm and seemed to appreciate what they had, despite all they'd lost. You could tell they appreciated each other and it was nice. They had their faults but they were some of the best people she'd come across. She may not have hit it off so well with Dean but she could see his soul and she knew he was good. With Sam, it was more than that. When Maddie was around him, she felt like she could talk him and for the first time in a while, he made her feel like she actually wanted a friend.

Which was why Maddie felt guilty for lying to him or rather, not telling him the whole truth. Maddie sighed and made her way to the door of the bunker. It wouldn't be long before the rest of the bunker would wake so she needed to get this over with. 

She walked outside and put a bit of distance between her and the bunker before calling the person she was waiting for. 

Maddie felt a change in atmosphere and suddenly felt the presence of another person behind her. 

She turned to face him. 

"Aeshma, what do you want?", snarled Maddie.

In front of her stood a tall man. Maddie had no idea who the man had been before the demon had taken control of his body, but Aeshma couldn't have picked a better vessel. He had to be around 6'5, he was muscular with a pinched facial expression that made him look constantly angry. He had many tattoo's, short hair and his pale skin took on a reddish tone when he got worked up. He towered over Maddie and Maddie had to remind herself of her power as a Nephilim in order to not be intimidated by him. 

"I think you know what I want", snarled the demon.

"You're not getting him", insisted Maddie.

"We both know that I get what I want", snarled Aeshma as his strong hand moved to curl around Maddie's throat. Maddie lifted her own hand on instinct and held it out in a claw like stance, twisting her hand so that Aeshma's hand twisted at a unnatural angle. Warmth spread through Maddie's body as her anger rouse. Maddie swiped her hand and sent Aeshma hurtling into a tree trunk with an audible thud. 

Maddie stalked closer to Aeshma, seething with anger. Maddie could feel power thrumming through her veins as her eye's began to glow a stunning shade of gold. 

"I'd think twice before doing something you'll regret", spat Aeshma as he struggled against her hold.

"You can't hurt me", seethed Maddie.

"That's true, you could kill me in a second but we both know you won't. Not unless you want the suffering of two people who you actually care about, on your conscience", threatened Aeshma.

The threat brought Maddie back to the present and she fought to gain control of her anger. She reminded herself of why she hadn't already killed Aeshma.

"You said you wouldn't hurt them", reminded Maddie.

"As long as you do what I say, no one has to get hurt and I'm telling you that I want you to give me Lucifer's little brat", demanded Aeshma.

"There's no way that's happening", refused Maddie.

"Well, I hope your prepared to put Daniel and Clarita through unimaginable pain. I'll be sure to let them know that whatever they go through is courtesy of you", shrugged Aeshma.

"No! no, don't hurt them! Okay, I'll do what you want, just leave them alone", rushed Maddie.

"You'll give me the boy?"

"On one condition", nodded Maddie reluctantly.

"I don't really think you're in the position to bargain with me", growled Aeshma.

"I've done everything you've asked me to do so far, I think I've earned this", scowled Maddie.

"Fine, what do you want?" asked Aeshma.

"I want a day. A day before I hand Jack over to you. I'll meet you in Aurora, Colorado in 24 hours with Jack, ready to hand him over but this will be the last thing I do for you. When we meet up tomorrow, you will bring Daniel and Clarita with you. I'll exchange Jack for the two of them. Take it or leave it", offered Maddie.

"I have a condition too. Once the exchange has been made, you leave me. You have to include not killing me in the deal", bargained Aeshma.

"Fine, I'll let you go, as long as you leave me alone", told Maddie.

"We have a deal but if you don't show up in Aurora tomorrow, Daniel and Clarita will wish they were dead", warned Aeshma. 

With that, Aeshma was gone and Maddie went back to the bunker. She stood there for a second, feeling an emptiness settle in the pit of her stomach. The empty pit soon filled with burning rage and hatred. 

A growl of fury escaped Maddie's lips as she suddenly pounded her fist into the bunker's tough wall, over and over again. She felt the skin on her knuckles split and blood smeared against the wall as the hits continued. Maddie felt and heard the sickening crunch of bone's breaking as a new intense pain shot through her hand and wrist. The pain anchored her back to reality that she faced and Maddie huffed an exhausted breath and examined the hand that had taken the brunt of her frustration. A golden glow emitted from open skin on Maddie's knuckles before fading to the ordinary crimson of human blood. 

Maddie heard footsteps and she cursed herself for her little tantrum which had obviously woken the brother's. 

Sam, Dean and Cas all pounded through the bunker, hands on a weapon and their eye's searching for a threat. Sam's eye's found Maddie and appraised her. Recognition fell over his face has he noticed the bloody smears, deep cracks in the wall and Maddie's, already swelling hand. 

"Are you okay?", questioned Sam.

"What did our wall ever do to you?" Grumbled Dean.

"Nothing" shrugged Maddie as she swiped her hand over the wall, removing any sign of blood or damage. She hovered her good hand over the broken one and it was instantly bandaged.

Without providing any explanation to the men in the room, Maddie strode past them to the room Jack was sleeping in. 

She gently shook his shoulder. 

"Jack, come on sweetheart. We have to go", coaxed Maddie.

Jack's eye's snapped open as he studied Maddie's face. 

"What's wrong?" Asked Jack fearfully. 

"Nothing, everything's okay but we need to go", soothed Maddie. 

Sam, Dean and Cas had followed her and we're standing in the doorway.

"What's going on? Where are you going?", inquired Cas.

"Nothing. Just a change in plan. We're leaving", stated Maddie as she guided Jack into the war room. Maddie's things were packed up and waiting by the stairs, Sam noted they hadn't been there before and marked it off as angel powers.

"No, there's more too this. What's with the sudden panic?" Questioned Sam.

Maddie looked Sam in the eye. and Sam noticed the guilt that lay there. Before she had chance to answer, the lights went out in the bunker, to be replaced with the red alarm lighting and a deafening ringing filled the halls. 

"No!", exclaimed Maddie.

"What the hell's happening?!" Yelled Dean. 

Jack's face twisted in fear and he cowered behind Maddie. 

"Get behind me", stuttered Maddie.

"What's going on?!" Shouted Dean.

"Just get behind me, Now!" Demanded Maddie. 

Sam turned at the sound of heavy footfalls stomping down the mental stairs. A large man casually made his way to where the group were standing.

"God, I can't hear myself think" grimaced Aeshma as he snapped his fingers and the ringing stopped and the lights came up.

"Demon", frowned Cas. 

"Nothing gets past you, does it feathers?" Sneered Aeshma.

"What the hell are you doing here?! We had a deal", yelled Maddie.

"You know him? You dealt with him?", questioned Sam.

"I knew we couldn't trust her", scowled Dean. 

"She didn't tell you that we've been working together? What a surprise", mocked Aeshma, "She's been working for me for a few weeks now. She had one more job to do before we went our separate ways. She was to hand Jack over to me".

"I was never going to actually do it", insisted Maddie to Sam, Dean and Cas. 

"Of course she wasn't which is why I'm here. Did you really think I wouldn't see through you?", scolded Aeshma. 

"Just leave them out of this. I'll come with you but leave them alone", bargained Maddie.

"No deal", shrugged Aeshma.

"Who the hell are you?", demanded Sam.

"Aeshma, Prince of hell", announced Aeshma as his eye's turned yellow. 

"I thought Asmodeus is the only prince of hell left", frowned Cas. 

"No, I'm the prince of hell that my siblings like to forget about. You see, Lucifer created us to be generals of demonic armies but I wasn't a big fan of taking orders and Lucifer didn't like that. When he couldn't control me like he could my siblings, he kept me prisoner in hell. I guess he took example from his own dad. I got out when the darkness was released and I kept to myself. I was waiting for the right time and that time has come. When I found out Lucifer had conceived a child and Dagon, that bitch of all people, was chosen by Lucifer to protect him, I knew my time had come. It's even more evident now that Lucifer is trapped in another universe and Crowley is dead. Hell is at a crossroads. It's been rendered to a mere shell of it's former self, through Crowley's reign. I plan to reform it back to it's former glory. I plan to take over hell and eventually, earth too. Lucifer made and mistake keeping me locked up, I could have been his most valuable ally but I don't need him. I can do it by myself, especially with his spawn at my side", explained Aeshma. 

"I'll kill you", stated Maddie. 

"No you won't. You'd have done it and to ready if you were. Whilst I have Daniel and Clarita, you're my little bitch", spat Aeshma.

"Who are Daniel and Clarita?" Asked Sam to Maddie. 

"She hasn't told you? Daniel is her little brother. When demon's killed her parents, there was a reason her brother wasn't found. Her brother was taken by the demon's and now I have him. And Clarita is her girlfriend...or should I say ex-girlfriend because you abandoned her didn't you?", smiled Aeshma.

"That's why you've been working for him?" asked Sam. 

"He has them and if he kills them, I could just bring them back so he doesn't kill them, he just threatens to torture them and feed my little brother demon blood if I don't. He has them warded from me, I can't find them", admitted Maddie.

"Now, they're going to pay for your mistakes. I knew you weren't going to give me the brat. You were going to run away with Jack and try to find a way to find your brother and ex before I came for Jack. Once you had them, you were going to kill me. Not very polite considering we've been such a good team lately", smirked Aeshma cunningly.

"I never meant to get you guys involved in this, but I thought that maybe this was the one place where he couldn't reach me or Jack. Aeshma spoke to me last night and I knew he'd found me. I went to talk to him because I wanted to bide my time. I was trying to get away from here so I didn't drag you guys into this. I already have Daniel, Clarita and Jack's well-being on my conscience, I didn't want yours too", explained Maddie sheepishly.

"It's a little late for that", warned Aeshma. Sam barely had chance to register what was happening before he felt his body shoot through the air. He landed against a wall, a throbbing pain pulsating through his back. Black spots dotted Sam's vision. He heard Dean and Cas' grunts and assumed that they were in a similar position to him. 

"Leave them alone, you're dealing with me, not them", snapped Maddie. 

Sam's vision cleared and he watched the scene in front of him. Maddie and Aeshma were fighting and Maddie was definitely controlling the situation. Sam could barely make out anything. They both moved so fast that it was all a blur of violence and power.

It slowed down as Maddie slammed Aeshma against the wall.

"Go ahead, kill me. See if you can find your brother and your little whore", snarled Aeshma. The 'whore' comment seemed to snap something in Maddie as her eye's began to glow, her fist clenched and Aeshma began to choke.

"Y...you'll ne...ver f'nd them, without...me", choked out Aeshma through wavering breaths.

Maddie's golden eye's faded to her regular green and Aeshma gasped out relieved breaths.

"Tell me where the hell they are or I will kill you! I'm done with your games", ordered Maddie. 

"If I tell you, you'll have no reason to keep me alive. Why would I do that?" Goaded Aeshma.

"If you don't tell me, I'll kill you anyway" spat Maddie.

"They're in hell. They've been in hell for a while. As we speak, dear little Daniel is being fed demon blood and sweet Clarita is being tortured. Do you know that she screams out for you? She begs you to save her. I always make sure she knows that you the reason why she's there", grinned Aeshma, dangerously. 

"It doesn't matter what I do. You're never going to free them", stated Maddie with realisation. Maddie looked conflicted, but she raised her hand anyway and when she did, Aeshma began to burn. His screams of pain and fury echoed through the bunker as his body was reduced to Ashes. 

Sam, Dean, Cas and Maddie stood wordlessly, a little bewildered. Jack was still cowering and murmuring unheard words. Maddie snapped into action, swiping her hand over the charred body and making it disappear. She then knelt down beside Jack and soothed him.

"It's okay Jack, you're going to be okay. I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, but it's okay now", soothed Maddie. Cas crouched by Jack to offer support and Maddie sent him a grateful look. 

"Cas, do you mind taking care of Jack for a few days?", asked Maddie quietly.

Cas nodded and guided Jack out of the room. 

Maddie began to frantically get a bag together.

"Okay, so are we not going to address the fact that you lied to us and that you've been working with a prince of hell?", demanded Dean.

"Look, I don't have time for this right now. I'm sorry I lied, I never wanted to bring you into this and I would never have hurt Jack or anyone else that didn't deserve it. I would love to stretch this out and let you take a crack at me, but I need to find my brother and friend", rushed Maddie.

"I get it, I do, but what are you planning to do about it?", inquired Sam.

"You heard them, they're in hell and I need to get them out of there so I'm going to hell", stated Maddie.

"That's crazy, you're going to get yourself killed", said Dean.

"I'll be fine", insisted Maddie.

"Not if you go down there, all guns blazing, you won't. I think you know that, too. You just don't care if you end up getting yourself killed because you're desperate to find them and I get that, but you're no good to them dead", reasoned Sam.

"I'm an archangel Nephilim. The demon's down there can't kill me. Beside's, I'm not marching down there with no plan, I'm not an idiot", argued Maddie.

"What's your plan?" Wondered Dean.

"A hell hound", stated Maddie simply.

"A hell hound? Your plan involves a hell hound?" Questioned Sam incredulously.

"Hell hounds aren't inherently violent and evil. They're just creatures and they obey whoever their master is and it just so happens that their masters end up being people like Lucifer and Crowley", explained Maddie.

"You knew Crowley?", asked Dean.

"Not really. I met him, we stayed out of each others way", shrugged Maddie.

"Back up, you have a hell hound?", asked Sam in disbelief.

"Yeah, as I said to you before, I've ended up becoming a hunter over the years with having to deal with all the evil that seems to gravitate towards me and I stumbled across a circle of people who'd made demon deals, when I was about 18. Most of them did it for idiotic reasons and I didn't have much sympathy for them but I came across a guy, his name was Renny. He made a demon deal when he was 15. His mom was in an abusive relationship. He had to watch his mom get hurt and when he tried to stop him, he'd just get it too. He was just a desperate kid and some low life demon came up and manipulated him. He didn't tell him what he was, he was very vague with the details. He just told him that he could make his step father stop and that he'd come back for something in return, in ten years. He made it sound like he was just going to come back for a favour, but 10 years later, hell hounds began to stalk him. After noticing the amount of deaths, I looked into and figured out it was demon deals and that's how I met Renny and found all of this out. I felt bad for him, he didn't deserve that so I hunted down the demon who made the deal, killed them, got rid of the contract and when I killed it's master, the hell hound that was after Renny started answering to me which is how I realised that they're not actually horrible creatures. They listen to their master. Lucky is loyal to me", explained Maddie.

"Lucky? You have a pet hell hound and you call him lucky?", questioned Dean.

"Well, it's as good a name, as any", shrugged Maddie.

"Putting that aside for now, how is a hell hound going to help you?", wondered Sam.

"Haven't you ever thought about why demon's use hell hounds to collect the souls of people who've made deals? Hell hounds have the ability to find and retrieve people. Plus they have passage into hell. I never knew where they were before, but now I know they're in hell, I can get Lucky to find them for me and guide me to them", explained Maddie.

"Okay", nodded Sam as he processed the information, "I'm coming with you".

"You're what?!" exclaimed Dean.

"I'm going to hell with Maddie", Stated Sam, "There are two people down there who shouldn't be. Maddie is going to get them, but she could use back up. Maybe demon's can't kill you Maddie, but they can capture you and do god know's what. Hell is their territory and there'll be lots of them. You'll be outnumbered and I know you're incredibly powerful and I'm just a human but this isn't our first gig, I can help you to get Daniel and Clarita while you deal with the demon's".

"Sam, I appreciate the offer, I really do but I can't let you come with me. If something happened to you, it'd be another load of guilt to add to my shoulders and I don't need anymore", declined Maddie.

"You don't have to worry about me, I can handle myself and if anything did happen to me, you can bring me back", shrugged Sam.

"Hold on, you're not doing this Sam and have you forgot that she lied to us? She's been lying to us this whole time", argued Dean.

"It's not like Maddie was going to hurt any of us. She was put in a really bad situation and she did what she could to keep everyone in it safe. Aeshma was keeping two people she loved, Dean, it doesn't make her a bad person", reasoned Sam.

"Look, I get it. I lied and you're pissed, but I was just trying to keep the people I love from being hurt. I didn't tell you guys because I didn't think I'd need too. I thought I could get the situation handled before I'd need to and I didn't want to drag you into. I figured that you're were trying to help by letting Jack and I stay here and I didn't want to bring trouble to your door", apologised Maddie.

Dean's shoulders sagged and he huffed out a sigh, "Fine, I get it. I get what you were doing, but from here on out, at least while you're with us, you need to be honest".

"Got it, all truth and nothing but the truth, so help me god", promised Maddie.

"I wouldn't swear on him", grumbled Dean with a smirk.

"So, now that's cleared, I'm going to hell. Aeshma made it clear that his demon's were given orders to hurt Daniel and Clarita if he died so I need to do this as quickly as possible", told Maddie.

"Okay, I'll get ready", nodded Sam.

"Sam-", began Dean in protest.

"Look, this isn't just about helping Maddie. There are two innocent people that are in hell and in the hands of demons. Part of the job description is saving people, Dean", reminded Sam.

"Fine, but I'm coming too", insisted Dean.

"No. If something else like Aeshma comes for Jack, you're going to need to be here to help Cas", argued Sam, "I'll be fine Dean. I'll be with a very powerful nephilim. I can just be there to help Maddie get Daniel and Clarita whilst she keeps the demon's at bay or something".

"Fine, but I don't like this. I like the idea of you going to hell about as much as I like the idea of being castrated", grumbled Dean.

"I'll make sure everyone comes back without a scratch", reassured Maddie.

"You better", ordered Dean.

"Or else you'll kill me or make me wish I was dead, got it, nothing happens to Sam", mocked Maddie.

* * *

Maddie slouched against the doorway whilst Sam quickly got himself ready for a trip to hell.

"Are you sure you're up to this, given your history? I'll manage by myself, you know?", offered Maddie.

"It's okay. Like I said to Dean, you can keep the demon's off and I'll grab your brother and friend", insisted Sam, "speaking of your 'friend', what's the deal there?".

"What do you mean?" Asked Maddie casually.

"Aeshma said that she was your ex-girlfriend", reminded Sam.

"Yeah, I guess she is", shrugged Maddie.

"Did it end badly?", wondered Sam.

"Not really, but I guess the ending of any relationship is never going to be great. I'm not really sure how she feels about me know", admitted Maddie.

"This must he hard for you", said Sam.

"I just want them back. I haven't seen Daniel since I was 6, but he's family, you know? And I'm the reason this has happened to him in the first place. He's my brother, I love him and I don't think I've stopped loving Clarita either. I've only been back in North America for a year. Before that, I travelled all over the place. Before I came back here, I stayed in Puerto Rico for a while. I stayed there for 18 months which is longer than I'd stayed any where for quite some time. I just loved everything about it; the place, the culture, the people, it's amazing and meeting Clarita may have had something to do with me staying there too. She's a hunter and sharp as a knife. I met her while I was hunting a Chupacabra, they have a big problem with them in Puerto Rico because it's where the creature originated from. Anyway, we met and she found out what I was and she was the first hunter I ever met that didn't instantly want to kill me upon finding out what I was. She thought that it was a beautiful thing to be the child of an angel. She insisted that I go back to her home for something to eat once we'd finished the hunt. She invited me to stay for a few nights before I moved one and I ended up staying for much longer. Fairly quickly, we began seeing each other. I actually got a normal day job. I got a job as as waitress in as restaurant. We both hunted when something came up locally but we led a pretty normal life for a while. I fell for her and she fell for me. After my parents died, I didn't feel love for a really long time until she marched into my life. She was the best thing that ever happened to me. Then reality came back to me. Demons found me and hunted me, I took care of them and nobody got hurt, but it reminded me why I hadn't gotten close to people before now. My family died because of their association to me. I couldn't let that happen, she didn't deserve it. So I left her. I told her the truth and she tried to convince to stay, that we could be safe together but I couldn't risk losing her so I left and now she's been taken anyway. I should have stayed with her, at least then I could have protected her. I thought leaving was the right thing for her, but now she's in hell and has gone through, god knows what", grimaced Maddie.

"Hey, it's not your fault. You were just trying to do the right thing and we're going to save her. We're going to save them both", promised Sam.

"I know", nodded Maddie.

"So, I'm all set", announced Sam.

"I'll call Lucky when we get into hell", stated Maddie.

"Okay then, lets go to hell", said Sam confidently.

* * *

 

 

 

 


	3. Throne

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sam and Maddie take a trip into hell and for a powerful Nephilim, that should be easy enough, but when has anything been that simple for the Winchester's or anyone involved with the brother's?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took such a long time. My life as been all over the place lately so writing took a back seat but I'm here again now and I'm hoping to have the next chapter up by next Wednesday. 
> 
> Hope you enjoy!

_Remember the moment you left me alone and_  
_Broke every promise you ever made_  
_I was an ocean, lost in the open_  
_Nothing could take the pain away_  
  
_So you can throw me to the wolves_  
_Tomorrow I will come back_  
_Leader of the whole pack_  
_Beat me black and blue_  
_Every wound will shape me_  
_Every scar will build my throne_

_\- Throne, Bring Me The Horizon_

* * *

Maddie had taken both, herself and Sam, to an old warehouse, where they would soon enter hell. Striding towards closed heavy duty, metal doors, Maddie began the action of tracing her hand over the wall. 

Sam observed Maddie as she hovered her open palm over the doors. As she did, multiple symbols began to glow on the doors and the walls surrounding them. The symbols glowed a fiery orange before fading to almost nothing. 

Maddie began to recite some sort of incantation before she became silent, seemingly satisfied. She casually swiped her hand to the right and as she did, the thick doors groaned open. As the doors parted, the contents behind the door became visible and an over powering humidity hit Maddie and Sam.

The open entrance led to an uninviting corridor that was made from dark stone, which almost took on a bloody hue. Torch light stood out of the walls, the only light illuminating the otherwise dark and dingy hallway.

It was hell.

If the appearance didn't give it away, the scent of sulfur and the distant screams of tortured souls, did. 

"Are you okay?" Asked Maddie sincerely.

"Fine", nodded Sam.

Maddie nodded before holding her hand up. An old brass whistle appeared in her palm and Sam noted sigil's engraved into the worn metal. Maddie brought the whistle to her lips and softly blew the ancient looking device. The sound was barely audible to Sam, but before he could think properly, the sound of claws scraping against stone, grew louder. The familiar grunts and snarls of a hellhound made itself known, as Maddie started to fuss an invisible creature.

"Good boy, Lucky! Have you missed me? Have you missed me boy?" Cooed Maddie as she ruffled the air.

Maddie glanced at Sam as he watched her interaction with the hellhound. 

Maddie gently touched Sam's forehand and when she removed her hand, the once invisible hellhound, stood clearly in front of Maddie. 

Sam had seen a hellhound more than once, but the vision Maddie had given Sam, allowed him to see the hound properly and not just a translucent image that those glasses had provided.

 _Lucky_ stood eagerly by Maddie's feet, sitting calmly. He was big, but not enormous. His fur was jet black and scraggly. His eye's were piercing and dark but looked joyfully at it's owner. His mouth opened as he licked Maddie's arm, his razor sharp teeth showing as he did. What really got Sam on the edge, were the claws. Long, pointed claws that brought images of a torn up Dean to Sam's mind.

Sam tried to remind himself that Maddie was in complete control of the, potentially violent, creature.

Maddie glanced at Sam, scrutinising him with her eye's and no doubt, sensing his anxiety. She offered a soft smile before resting her head against the side of Lucky's face, muttering something in the hound's ear. Lucky gently licked Maddie's nose before his large paws padded over to Sam. Sam's whole body tensed as he mentally prepared himself for pain, but the creature simply licked Sam's hand before sitting in front of him, eagerly.

Sam inspected his hand in disbelief.

"He's not going to hurt you, Sam. I his master and I've trained him", reassured Maddie.

"Trained him? Didn't God try to get rid of hell hounds because he found them too unruly?", questioned Sam incredulously.

"Well, from what I hear about God, he isn't exactly a patient guy. He locked his sister up for all of eternity when he couldn't control her, he did the same with his own son,  too. And if you believe the bible, he wiped out all of humanity, with the exception of Noah, because he didn't like how they were acting. Then he walked out on the rest of the angel's too. He doesn't sound like a patient or nurturing kind of guy, in fact his wrath is infamous and hell hounds are very good at picking up on the moods and wants of their master...maybe they were sensing his anger management issues and were acting on that", pointed out Maddie.

"Okay, I guess so", nodded Sam as he huffed a laugh at Maddie's description of God, her grandfather.

"Like I said before, hell hounds obey their masters which is why crossroad demons use them to collect the souls of those that have sold them. They just do what they're told.

They spent a lot of time in hell being controlled by demons, you can't blame them for their anger issues. When I became Lucky's master, he listened to be instantly, but I wanted for him to be calm and happy too, so I used my ability to sense emotions and instincts to my advantage. Before long, Lucky was acting as friendly as a Labrador. He's just misunderstood", insisted Maddie.

"Where do you keep him?", wondered Sam.

"Hell hounds survived so long in hell that they've evolved to flourish in that kind of environment. Hell, with its heat, humidity and sulfur, is the ideal environment for a hell hound to live in, so Lucky lives in hell. He comes to visit me because hell hounds like to be near their master, but he lives in hell" explained Maddie.

Sam nodded before turning back to the hound, Lucky dipped his head at Sam. Sam hesitantly held his hand out before resting it on the head of the hell hound. Lucky seemed to lap up the gesture of trust from Sam and vigorously licked Sam's palm in response. Giving Sam's hand one last lick, he bounded back to Maddie. 

"Okay, boy, we need your help. I need to find a couple of people. They're in hell and you know this place better than anyone, Luck. We need you to take us to them. We're looking for Clarita Ayala and Daniel Stone. Here-", explained Maddie as held out her hand. A small pendant appeared in Maddie's hand. A coin shape pendant, attached to a chain. It was gold and an intricate pattern was engraved into the gold jewel. 

Maddie held out the necklace for Lucky to sniff, "This should have Clarita's scent on it".

Lucky spent a minute sniffing the pendant before licking Maddie's hand. Maddie put the chain around her neck carefully. 

"You ready? Lucky's going to guide us now", stated Maddie.

"Doesn't Lucky need something of Daniel's to smell?", questioned Sam.

A look that Sam couldn't quite pin point, flashed through Maddie's eye's, but it was gone before he could place it.

"I don't have anything of Daniel's to give him, but they're probably being kept together anyways", shrugged Maddie, "So, shall we go?"

"Yeah, I'm ready", nodded Sam. 

"You know, you still have a chance to back out. I wouldn't blame you if you didn't want to do this", offered Maddie.

"I'm fine", insisted Sam.

"Okay, let's go"

* * *

Sam and Maddie, vigilantly walked through the harrowing corridor of hell. Lucky was up front, leading their way. Both Sam and Maddie had kept pretty quiet so far, both of their minds caught up in dark places. For Sam, going through hell brought up many unwanted memories. Sam's stint in hell wasn't your average hell vacation, he was in the cage with Lucifer after all, but the smell of sulphur and the agonised screams were enough to bring back the memories that he'd tried so hard to push down. It wasn't that long ago that he was walking through hell with the goal to meet Lucifer on the other side. Looking back, Sam didn't know how he hadn't seen how bad of an idea it was, but he hadn't at the time and he had ended up facing Lucifer again. All of that had lead to Lucifer in the bunker, something that still haunted Sam. It took him a while to feel comfortable in his own room again. Walking through hell, Sam had to keep reminding himself that Lucifer wasn't waiting for him at the end of this. 

As for Maddie, she was thinking about the people they were doing this for. Her little brother, who she hadn't since since he was abducted, because of her. He was a small child when she'd lost him, what had become of him? He'd been raised by demons and Maddie just hoped that he could be saved from whatever damage that could have been done to who he was.

As they travelled further through hell, the further they felt from home. They began to pass cells. Cells made from bone and flesh, the soul's inside of it, tortured beyond recognition of something resembling a person. Tortured soul's begged and screamed for freedom, for help, for it too stop.

"Are you okay?", asked Maddie hesitantly. She could taste the fear, pain and guilt rolling of Sam and she didn't want to push him to talk about his feelings, that they both knew Maddie could feel. But Maddie didn't want him to go through this without having someone to support him. She may have only met Sam recently, but what she did already know about him was that he'd been through more than anyone else she'd ever met and probably ever would meet, not many people get tortured in hell by Lucifer for almost two centuries.

Maddie saw the closeness between Sam and Dean. Their bond was evident for anyone to see, but especially for someone like Maddie to see. She could see that they were soulmates, their soul's complimented each other and shined brighter in either's presence. The brother's were different in many ways, they were opposite and the same. They were a team, a partnership and above all, family. Maddie guessed that the brother's had gotten each other through the hard times. They were both strong and she could tell they found their strength from each other, but now, Sam was here and facing reminder's of a agonising past and he was here alone. Without his brother, the only family he'd ever really known and Maddie felt responsible for that. He was down here because of her, so if he was going to be down here, she wanted to make sure that he had someone there to talk too. Maddie was at least going to make herself open for Sam to lean on if he needed too. She was practically a stranger, but in hell, a friendly stranger was better than no one at all. 

"I'm fine", nodded Sam unconvincingly.

"Honestly? I mean, I'm not. We're walking through hell with people who have their eye's gouged out, limbs missing and skin torn off, screaming at us, it smell's like rotten egg's and the air is so humid that my hair is about to spontaneously combust. Not to mention that I'm about to come face to face with my brother who was abducted and raised by demons and my ex girlfriend who I bailed on and is probably pretty pissed at me, especially now that she's been kidnapped and taken to hell because of me. So, yeah, not doing so great. If you are good right now, you must be some kind of fearless humanoid and I'd like to take some of that fearlessness too", exclaimed Maddie dramatically.

Sam quirked his mouth at Maddie's obvious attempts at making him feel better about his growing anxiety. 

"Okay, maybe I'm a little on edge", conceded Sam with a light laugh.

"I have no idea why", huffed Maddie with a smirk.

"It's just, bad memories and all that", shrugged Sam.

"This would be horrific for anyone, but for someone with your history, it must be almost impossible. If I'd have been to hell like you have, I don't think I could have willingly stepped back in this place"

"I think you would have, to save the people you love, you would have", countered Sam.

"How do you know I would have? You don't know me, I could be a complete bitch who loves no one but myself", joked Maddie.

"I'm good at reading people. It's taken a long time and a lot of betrayal's and screw ups, but I eventually got good at reading people. You're not a bitch and you care a lot", smiled Sam.

"Yeah, well, just don't tell anyone because you'll ruin my street cred and anyway, you aren't coming back down here to save someone you care about. You've never met Clarita or Daniel, they're complete strangers to you", pointed out Maddie.

"I'll always try to save people. I owe the world that much. Plus, you brought back someone from my family and now it's time for me to get yours back", shrugged Sam.

"You don't owe the world a damn thing! From what I hear, you've saved the world more than once. If anything, it owes you", argued Maddie.

Before Sam could reply, Lucky started go growl and snarl.

"Incoming", announced Maddie.

Sam withdrew ruby's knife. 

Three demon's dressed in sharp suits rounded the corner. They were probably one of Crowley's minions originally, but who knew what their deal was with Crowley gone?

Lucky lunged at the demon in a female meat suit, trying to protect his master. The demon hit Lucky, sending him careening into the wall. Maddie ran to the demon's clamping her hand on its forehead. The demon's mouth opened in pain and an fiery orange light emanated from it's eye's, mouth and from under it's skin. The person who the demon had been possessing was already dead and fell lifelessly to the ground. Maddie clamped her hand down on the heads of the other two demons, they too, fell to the floor.

Maddie glanced at Sam who stood holding his demon blade limply.

"Guess you didn't need my help", commented Sam with a small laugh.

Maddie turned towards Lucky who was beginning to rise from the ground.

"You okay, buddy?" asked Maddie in concern.

Lucky licked Maddie's hand before giving a reassuring growl and moving forward.

"Is he okay?", asked Sam.

"Yeah, he's a tough guy. Hell hounds go through much more than that in their life times", reassured Maddie. 

The group continued to walk through hell, on high alert.

"I was coming to help you with those demon's earlier, but you kind of got them before I could even help", laughed Sam.

"Yeah, three demon's are nothing I haven't dealt with. Demon's aren't the issue for me, but I will need help when it come's to getting Daniel and Clarita. No doubt, they'll be surrounded and I can fight demon's, but I'll need you to get them and to keep them safe. I hate that I've dragged you down here and into my own fight, but I appreciate it more than you know", told Maddie sincerely. 

"It's no big deal", shrugged Sam.

"It is to me", insisted Maddie.

* * *

Dean paced with agitation. He regretted agreeing to Sam going to hell with Maddie, but it wasn't really his choice. If the situation with the British Men of Letters proved anything to Dean, it was that his brother was his own man. Dean had been so damn proud of Sam and the leadership he'd shown with that group of hunters, especially because Dean knew that it wasn't something that Sam found easy. Leading was difficult for him, but he was damn good at it. Dean's job had been to protect Sam and often that meant that Dean felt he knew what was best for him and often made his opinions known.

Maybe in the past, Sam had needed Dean's guidance, but he realised that wasn't the case anymore. Something bad happening to Sam, had always been Dean's worst fear and to appease his fear, Dean had sometimes tried to control Sam's life, but that had always been where problem's had arisen in the brother's relationship and it never prevented Sam from getting hurt. Sam had gotten hurt in ways Dean could never have even imagined, all those years ago at Stanford. Dean realised that Sam was his own man and he was damn good one, too. Sending Sam into the fight with the Brit's, without Dean there to have his back, went against every fibre in Dean's body, but Dean hadn't been fit for the fight and he knew Sam was strong enough to handle it by himself, to lead. 

Dean was trying to continue with that. Trying to allow Sam to make his own decisions and respect them. Not that, that was easy. Especially when Sam's decisions involved going to hell. He could see why Sam chose to go with Maddie. Two innocent people were trapped in hell and Dean knew that Sam would want to do whatever it took to save them. Plus, Sam seemed to liked Maddie. Dean was thankful that the kid brought Cas back, but it was different with Sam, he seemed to actually like the kid. Dean tried to take comfort in the fact that Sam had a powerful archangel Nephilim on his side, but Sam and hell didn't have a good past. Dean hated the idea of Sam being back there, but he wasn't about to order Sam around and tell him what he could or couldn't do. But it didn't mean he had to like it either. 

Dean would have liked to go with Sam and make sure that he was safe, but he knew that he couldn't offer any more protection than Maddie would provide and Cas needed back up with Jack, just in case anything were to go wrong.

Right now, Jack was sitting rigidly in the war room as Cas spoke inaudible words to Lucifer's son. Having Jack here in the bunker made Dean all kinds of uneasy. He was Lucifer's kid and he'd tried to kill them. He may have been scared and he may of thought he was acting in self defence, but it didn't make Dean feel any better. 

Both Cas and Sam wanted to help Jack. Dean understood why Cas did, he'd spent time with Kelly and he'd invested in this kid, but he didn't quite understand why Sam did. Jack was the son of the person who'd tortured Sam for almost two centuries. Son of the person who'd caused Sam suffering, long after he left the cage. He was the son of the person who'd damaged Sam so much, he haunted him in the form of hallucinations. He was the son of the devil and Dean had no idea how Sam could even stand being near Jack. 

Jack wasn't the one who'd done those things to Sam, but he came from the one who had done those things. Jack had a part of Lucifer in him. Dean wasn't saying the kid was completely evil, but he definitely had the potential for it. Plus, if Alistair had a child, Dean definitely wouldn't want to bond with it. Then again, this was Sam and if Sam saw someone who he thought was innocent and in trouble, Sam would try to help them...no matter who their father was. Dean's chest filled with a proud warmth at the thought. This particularly trait of Sam's made him proud of the kid, but in the times when Sam's willingness to give dangerous beings a chance to be good put Sam in danger, he also cursed the trait.

Dean sighed and ran a calloused hand down his face. He missed simpler days, when a hunt with a demon was tough day. When they didn't have the spawn of Lucifer and daughter of the archangel Gabriel, living with them.

Wishing would get Dean nowhere though, so instead, he left Cas and Jack by themselves and grabbed a glass of whiskey. If he had to sit around while his brother went to hell, he'd need all the whiskey.

* * *

Sam, Maddie and Lucky had been travelling through hell for a while. They weren't exactly sure how long it had been. It could have been merely minutes, felt more like a week. Those three demon's they'd first come face to face with were nothing. After that, more and more demon's showed up. Groups of 5 or 6 of them at a time. They didn't seem to know they'd be there, so bumping into them must have a coincidence. 

So far, the demon's hadn't proved much of a problem. Sam tried to fight them of until Maddie was able to use her powers to kill them. That way, the human vessel may have a chance. He didn't like using Ruby's blade only to kill the human too, but so far, all the demon's Maddie had killed were possessing dead humans. So they hadn't been able to save anyone. It was definitely disillusioning to see the human bodies slump to the floor after the demon's were gone, but Sam took solace in the fact they were doing this to save two innocent humans who'd been taken from their homes and the people who loved them.

It had been a few minutes since they'd come across any demon's and they seemed to be heading further and further into hell. A horrifying realisation dawned on Sam as he recognised where Lucky was leading them.

Maddie sensed the sudden shift in Sam's emotions. He'd been fearful and apprehensive from the beginning, but the new fear was different. It was more panic than fear. It was more intense and staggering. It was strong enough to make Maddie stop in her tracks. 

"What's wrong?!" Asked Maddie, worry in her voice.

"Nothing", denied Sam.

Maddie looked at Sam in disbelief, "Sam, your panic was strong enough to give me a panic attack, there's something wrong. What's wrong?"

"It's stupid, he's not even there anymore", muttered Sam and he tried to shake of the sudden emotion. 

As Sam struggled in his head, chains of broken images and memories illuminated Maddie's mind.

She saw flashes of an unimpressive looking man. Dirty blonde hair, watery blue eyes and scruffy clothes. The man didn't look special, but he radiated power. Projected emotions flickered in Maddie's head painfully; feelings of being trapped inside your own body, feelings of pain, fear, feelings of _torture_ , feelings of freedom, but not really, feelings of never being free, feelings of dread at returning to the scene of a nightmare, but also the determination to do something that was necessary, feelings of a shattered faith, feelings of shame and loss, feelings of being trapped _again_. Maddie gasped at the onslaught of emotion, but it wasn't over. Images raced through her head and pierced her gut. Images that were too broken to form a scene. Maddie saw images of blood, so much blood and maybe even more tears. She saw meat hooks and chunks of skin, she saw fire, something that looked like a cage and _that_ man again. She saw images that Wes Craven couldn't imagine. She saw a soul. A familiar soul. So broken and abused that it shouldn't even work, shouldn't even shine, but somehow did. She saw the soul being forced into an unwilling body. She saw a hospital and a hunched figure praying desperately. She saw clasped hands and desperate prayers. She saw a burning bush. She saw that man _again_. She saw a cage again, but a different cage. But the same man. She was inside the cage or at least the images in her mind were and she was looking at the man as he store at her like she was a zebra and he was the lion about to pounce. He looked at her-not her, Sam - with sadistic malice... 

The images and emotions faded and Maddie realised she was backed against the wall, panting. Sam was standing over her with a worried expression masking his face.

Maddie always tried to keep herself from seeing the thoughts and memories of others, but when those emotions and memories were too vivid and strong, snapshots and broken images managed to get through. When Maddie allowed herself to see into people's minds, it's wasn't painful. It wasn't painful to stop it either, but it took strength and when a person's mind manages to break through the wall Maddie built in her mind to stop herself from reading people, that is painful and she can get lost in it for a second. The only reason it stopped was because Sam became distracted from his tortured thoughts by Maddie's sudden reaction. 

"Lucifer", stated Maddie quietly.

Fear soaked through Sam's hazel eyes at the mention of the fallen archangel. 

"He's...he isn't, he's not here. He can't be, he, he's in another dimension", stuttered Sam fearfully. 

"No..no, Sam", rushed Maddie as she realised what Sam was thinking, "he's not here, I just saw him...I saw him in your head".

"Oh", realised Sam, "you saw what was going on in my head".

"Not on purpose", offered Maddie, slightly afraid that Sam would get mad at her for being intrusive. 

 "I know", smiled Sam, "You said before that if they're too intense that you can't always block them, right? It seemed like it was painful for you though".

"It's not usually, but because I try to stop them, it becomes painful if memories or thoughts are so intense that they manage to break through the wall I put up", shrugged Maddie.

"Sorry about that, if you need to just stop blocking me, you can. I don't want to put you through pain", offered Sam.

"It's okay, don't sweat it. I've dealt with much more before. I can handle a little headache now and then", smiled Maddie confidently.

"Okay, so we should probably carry on", suggested Sam.

"Just one thing, are you okay to carry on? Something caused a sudden increase of anxiety and I can guess who is behind it, but not why it happened just now. Is it because we're in hell?", wondered Maddie.

"A while ago, but not long ago enough, I visited Lucifer in hell to ask how to defeat God's sister. The king of hell had in him put in a cage in the part of hell, that I have a feeling is where we're headed too", explained Sam.

"The things I saw are making more sense now...You can stay here if you want. I can handle it", offered Maddie.

"It's okay, I'm okay. I just, it took me by surprise a little bit", nodded Sam.

"I felt what you felt and if I was you, I would be getting the hell out of hell", frowned Maddie.

"Yeah, well, this isn't my first time at the rodeo", smiled Sam as he huffed a laugh.

"Well, if you're sure", agreed Maddie begrudgingly. 

* * *

Lucky continued to lead them until they eventually approached the area that Sam had, once again, faced Lucifer in. 

They hadn't come across any other demons which had made them nervous, but as Lucky galloped to the space that Crowley and Rowena had hid in, Maddie paused. 

"I can sense demons, a lot of them", told Maddie. 

Maddie and Sam continued forward, trying to scope the room that the demons were in without getting caught. 

The large expanse of ground still held the cage that he'd met Lucifer in and surrounding it, he saw a sea of people, demons no doubt. 

"There has to be at least 100 demon's in here", guessed Sam. 

"Naturally", stated Maddie sarcastically, "Do you mind finding Daniel and Clarita whilst I deal with the demon's? They'll be more likely to stay away from you if they're fighting me". 

"Are you going to be okay?", asked Sam.

"Yeah... Probably", replied Madden casually.

"That fills me with so much confidence", huffed Sam.

"How will I know who Daniel and Clarita are?",questioned Sam.

"Well Lucky will be going with you, he'll show you to Daniel and Clarita and he'll help you if you have any demon issues, but I will try and keep them away", explained Maddie, "Hey, Lucky, you need to take Sam to Daniel and Clarita and protect them. Got it buddy?".

Lucky gruffed out a quiet bark, as if to argue and pushed Maddie's hand with his nose.

"Don't worry, bud. I'll be fine, we all will, but I need you to go with Sam. Okay?", reassured Maddie as she fussed the hound. Lucky then proceeded to pad over towards Sam and stood diligently by his side.

"Here", said Maddie as she held out her hand. A silver whiskey flask appeared in her palm, "It's holy water, so you can make sure they're not possessed".

Sam messed inside his jacket pocket and brought out a similar looking flask.

"Do really think I'd have gone on a rescue mission to hell without holy water?", smirked Sam.

"Sorry, I'm not used to doing this stuff with other hunters. I go it alone. I used to dealing with unprepared civilians", offered Maddie.

"I get it", smiled Sam.

"Listen, if you get back out of there with Clarita or Daniel, and I'm not here, I want you to carry on and get the hell out of here. I'll be fine, I'll follow you out of here eventually, but if you find either of them, you need to get them out of here quickly", ordered Maddie.

"I'm not just going to leave you", protested Sam.

"This isn't a Nicholas Sparks novel, I'm not asking you to let me die and save yourself, I'll be fine. I can handle myself, but Daniel and Clarita can't. Clarita is a damn fine hunter, but she's way out of her league here. Anyone is who doesn't have supernatural abilities and I'm the only one here that does. So, promise me that you won't stand around waiting for me and also waiting around for demon's to get the jump on you as a result", argued Maddie.

"Fine", agreed Sam finally,"but don't be doing anything stupid or reckless. I'm sure your brother and Clarita will want you in one piece to see you again after all of this".

"Who say's I'm the type of person who does things that are stupid and reckless?", asked Maddie with a quirked eyebrow.

"You seem the type", deadpanned Sam, "seriously, get out of here in one piece".

"Okay, mom, I will", smirked Maddie.

"Good", nodded Sam, "I reckon they must have gotten wind of us by now".

"They can probably sense me, but they'll be unsure of what to do. I killed their boss. They may not know that I did it, but they'll know something happened by now. They have no boss to order them around and demon's need that. Their apprehension will give us an edge. So what do you say? Shall we blow this Popsicle stand?", suggested Maddie.

"Yeah,  let's go", agreed Sam.

The three of them headed to the room full of demon's. 

"Hey, dicks!", shouted Maddie as walked into the view of the demon's. As Maddie was getting the demon's attention, Sam followed Lucky and woved through the crowd of demon's.

He heard commotion over by where Maddie was and he hoped she was doing okay. Most of the demon's were focusing on Maddie. Sam didn't blame them, she was the daughter of an archangel and one of the most powerful beings around with the archangels MIA. Plus, she could kill them with only a touch so of course they were focused on her. However, when he passed through demon's, he did catch their attention. Being a Winchester didn't help him. He began wielding the demon knife indiscriminatively.

He felt guilty about the human's they were posssessing. He'd made a promise to himself back at that hospital that he'd focus more of the saving people part of the motto, than the killing part of it. He didn't have much of an option right now though. If he didn't kill them, they'd kill him and he had two human's who he needed to get out of hell. That's what he focused on.

He would usually be fighting off about 5 demon's and by time he killed those, another few caught on to his presence. He was getting by easily so far, but as he plunged the knife into a demon's chest, he felt two bodies with super human strengh pile on top of him. He looked up to see two pairs of black eye's. They snarled at him.

"Little Sammy Winchester, I'm so glad to have some 1-1 time with you. Last time Lucifer had all the fun", sing songed one of the demon's. The first demon was wearing a female meat suit. She was tiny and old. The sight of a 80 year old woman, with a blue rinse and a floral knitted cardigan being able to pin Sam down was bizarre even for him. The other demon wore a male vessel and was a little more like the demons he was used to seeing working with Crowley. He was nondescript. An average looking white male. The two demons pinned him down with no room to wriggle. 

Sam still had his knife, but the male demon was holding his hand firmly to the ground. Sam tried to wiggle his arm free but it wouldn't give. Instead, he headbutted the male demon, but it seemed to hurt him more than it did the demon. 

"I'm going to strip your skin of your body, slow and bloody", snarled the demon who wore the elderly lady. The demon dragged a sharp nail across Sam's arm, creating a deep slice. The demon dug her fingers into the cut and ripped a layer of skin away, illiciting a howl of pain from Sam. 

Sam prepared himself for more pain, but he witnessed a disgruntled looking Lucky pounce on one of the demon's, sinking his teeth into it's kneck and pulling it away from Sam. The demon Lucky had gotten off Sam was the one holding his knife down, with him gone, Sam fought the old lady demon off himself and then killed it. He reminded himself that the old woman hed killed that was now slumped to the floor, was a demon. Demon or not, it felt so wrong. 

Sam looked to Lucky who had three dead demon's displayed around him. Sam noted that Lucky had been fighting demon's himself in order to get to Sam and help him. He smiled and rubbed his head appreciatively, bewildered that he was warming up to a hellhound. He and Lucky quickly moved forward, both killing their fare shared of demon's. 

Eventually they came to the very back of the large room. There was a door, made of bone and dripping with blood. It was so cliche that Sam couldn't bring himself to be grossed out by it. The handle was made out of a knee joint. Lucky nudged his nose in the doors direction and Sam knew that Daniel and Clarita had to be in there. 

Grimacing has he placed his hand on the bone doorknob, he yanked it open. Sam wasn't really surprise when it didn't budge. 

Lucky nudged Sam aside, before hurling himself at the door, knocking it through. 

"Thanks", said Sam as he walked into the room. 

The room was small, a dungeon of some kind. There was a woman in the corner. She was bruised and bloodied, so it made her features ambiguous but Sam would bet that it was Clarity. One of her wrists were shackled to the floor and she was slumped against the floor. Sam noted that she was either asleep or unconscious. Sam glanced at the door and felt secure with Lucky standing guard. 

He slowly walked closer to the woman and took out his flask, spraying the woman with holy water. Nothing happened, no sign that she was possessed, but it did make Sam more convinced that she was unconscious rather than asleep when she didn't flinch at all. 

He slowly bent down and placed a hand on her shoulder. 

Quicker than Sam could process what was happening, he was laying down on the floor. The woman was pressing him to the floor with some sort of make shift weapon to his throat. She looked drained and the pinches in her face suggested she was in pain, but there was fire in her eyes. 

Sam held his hands up in surrender, "hey, it's okay. I'm not a demon. I'm a hunter. I'm helping Maddie to find you and her brother".

"Please, Maddie would never work with hunters. I wasn't born yesterday", growled Clarita in a thick Spanish accent. 

"She worked with you, didn't she?", Sam pointed out. 

"Yes, but you're not sleeping with her... Unless her type has drastically changed since I last saw her", quipped Clarita.

"Okay, fair enough. I have holy water, you can test me", offered Sam. 

Clarita appraised him before taking the flask, never taking her weight off of Sam. 

"This could be normal water for all I know", acknowledged Clarita. 

"I have rosary needs in my pocket, get them and you can bless the water yourself", suggested Sam. 

Clarita did what Sam suggested and proceeded to douse Sam in the water. 

"See, not a demon", spluttered Sam. 

Clarita analysed Sam silently before climbing of him. 

Sam began to stand, dusting his knees off. 

"What is that thing?" asked Sam, motioning to the DIY weapon in Clarita's hand.

"This? This is a weapon I made from the tray they brought my food in on...apparently they're not above torture but starvation is too far for them", spat Clarita, "Obviously wanted to keep me alive so they had leverage over Madeline. God damn demon's!".

"A+ for the ingenuity, but it's plastic, it wouldn't have helped you with the demon's", pointed out Sam automatically.

"Oh really?! Just because I'm from Peurto Rico, doesn't mean the only things I hunt are Chupacabre's. I know plastic doesn't kill demon's, but I don't ever plan to go down without a fight either and I'll cause as much trouble as I can before I willingly let a demon torture or kill me", scowled Clarita.

"I respect that. I can see why Maddie likes you so much, I can see you together", smiled Sam.

"Is, 'I can see you together' code for, 'you're both bitches'?", accused Clarita with a smirk.

"No, you both just have a similar vibe that I could imagine mixing well. You're both badass for a starter. Now, before I say anything else that may get me into trouble, we need to get Daniel and get you both out of here", began Sam. He wanted to give Clarita a second to get herself together because he knew what is was like to be tortured, but they also needed to be swift.

"Daniel? You don't know?", asked Clarita. It was the first time since the short interaction with Clarita, that Sam saw something close to nerves or apprehension.

"What do you mean? He's been kept in hell too, since he got kidnapped", frowned Sam.

"Yeah, but you didn't expect him to be a regular human being after all this time did you?", asked Clarita.

"Well, I can't speak for Maddie, but I guess you would assume that after years of being kept as a prisoner by demon's and having them presumably torture you, that he would have problems adjusting back to living a semi normal life and of course he's probably traumatised, but he has Maddie which is more family than he's known for years. He'll be safer than he has ever been", stated Sam.

Clarita sighed sadly, "So you don't know about the demon blood?".

"The demon blood?" repeated Sam, heart pausing at even hearing the words of something he was once so haunted by.

"The demon who kidnapped him all those years ago, fed him demon blood. A lot of demon blood. I don't know the exact amount, but now he's on daily doses and he's probably more demon than human. He isn't being kept here against his will, this is his home. He's Aeshma's protege. He's evil", explained Clarita with a sigh.

"Oh god", whispered Sam.

"He's the one who did this to me", stated Clarita, referencing to the viscious bruises and cuts that littered her body. 

"I should have guessed that someone who spent the majority of their lives with demon's, wasn't going to be completely innocent anymore...but it's not his fault. We can detox him, bring him back from this", reasoned Sam.

"Even if you take away the blood, his soul in dark. It's who he is now", declared Clarita.

"Let's just get you out of here", said Sam, wondering how he was going to break the news to Maddie.

* * *

Maddie fought demon after demon, rendering every single one of them dead as she made her way through the demon's.

She couldn't see Sam or Lucky, but she knew Sam would do whatever he could to help Clarita.

Maddie raised her palm, ready to kill the demon in front of her. It was wearing a male meat suit. He was Caucasian and clad in a suit. The demon had sharp features and small slits for eye's. Eye's which were shrouded in black.

"Looking for your brother and that slut ex girlfriend of yours?", snarled the demon.

Maddie's face turned hot with fury at the derogatory words the demon was aiming at Clarita. Maddie snapped the demon's arm back, illiciting a growl of pain from the demon.

"Your misses is in a room at the back of this place, I believe your little entourage are with her now, but your brother...well they're not going find him", goaded the demon.

"What are you talking about?!" demanded Maddie.

"Come with me and I'll show you", offered the demon with a menacing smirk.

"Like I'd really trust you", scoffed Maddie.

"You don't have to trust me. You'd know if I was lying and I'm not, I know where your brother is. What's there to lose really? You can kill me with a simple touch if anything goes wrong", reminded the demon.

"Well there has to be some kind of twist to this because you're not leading me to my brother out of the goodness of your heart", scowled Maddie.

"True, but you'll come with me anyway. It's your brother we're talking about", smiled the demon.

The demon's around Maddie had paused, listening to the conversation. They knew they couldn't kill Maddie, but she could definitely kill them. So they hoped she'd leave them to find her brother.

Maddie knew she was walking into a trap. Probably some high powered demon's with some fancy hell weapons that were waiting to take her down, but she could handle it. She'd risk it all for her brother.

"Fine", agreed Maddie.

* * *

Lucky led Sam and Clarita through the doors that had opened a gateway into hell for Maddie and Sam. Clarita collapsed against the floor in exhaustion.

"I can't believe you left Maddie in there", groused Clarita.

"She made me promise to get you out of there straight away. She said she might not be out at the same time, but said she'd find us afterwards. Maddie can handle herself, no demon is going to be able to kill her, but you're injured and you need help", responded Sam in defense.

"I don't need your help", argued Clarita.

"You do, you've been tortured and I know someone who can help you. I'm going to take you there and then we can figure out a way to find out what's going on with Maddie", reasoned Sam.

Lucky licked Sam's hand before turning back and heading into hell.

"Where's he going?", asked Clarita.

"You can see him?", asked Sam incredulously.

"Maddie gave me the ability when we were together", explained Clarita.

"Right. I think he's going back in to find Maddie. Hopefully he'll bring her back out before we have to worry about what to do next", hoped Sam.

"She'll be fine, she's got all the lives of a cat", stated Clarita confidentally.

* * *

Two demon's led her through further corridors. It wasn't long until they were standing in front of a huge set of doors. Maddie was marched through them.

A throne stood in front of her and a disinterested man lounged in it. The man was barely a man. He look about 19/20 years old. He had black hair that was sleeked backwards. His eye's were familiar. Blue and piercing, they reminded Maddie of someone's eye's, but they were much sharper than the one's creeping into the corner's of Maddie's mind. For a young man, his body was no where near lanky. He was muscular and tanned. He wore a fitted t-shirt and black combat pants. He looked a little like a security guard or off duty soldier. He looked like he meant business. Maddie was almost sure that she knew this guy, but at the same time, he was a stranger.

"Hey, big sis", smirked the man, only pausing to look at Maddie for a second.

Realisation dawned on Maddie, as the harsh man's face morphed into a 4 year old in Maddie's mind.

"Daniel", whispered Maddie.

"She remembers me, I'm touched", snarked Daniel.

"What...Daniel, I'm so glad you're okay", gushed Maddie as relief filled her body.

"Well, 'okay', is debatable", interjected Daniel, disinterestedly. 

Maddie almost flinched at the hostility in Daniel. She knew this was heading in a bad direction. 

She could also sense the demon blood in him. She blanched when she realised there was more demon blood than anything else. Her brother was practically a demon.

"You sense it, huh?", smiled Daniel, "The demon blood inside little Daniel. You can see what's become of me because of you".

"I'm sorry okay, I really am, but I never asked for this and I never wanted for you to get hurt. We can handle this together. You can come with me and we'll see if it's possible to detox the blood...there might be too much, but if there is then we'll figure it out. I'll help you to control it", promised Maddie.

"Oh really, how sweetly condescending of you sis!", exclaimed Daniel sarcastically, "the truth is, I don't want anything from you. Accept your blood".

"Daniel, I love you. You're my family and I want this to work out. None of this is on you, I get that. I get that you hate me, but please just give this a chance. Give me a chance", pleaded Maddie, ashamed at the desperation in her voice. Maddie wasn't afraid of what Daniel was planning to do with her. She had gone through enough, not to fear pain. However, she was afraid of losing her brother. 

She'd lost him all those years ago, but she'd always held onto the hope that she could get him back. It was too late for her parents, but it's wasn't too late for Daniel. 

Maddie was far from stupid, she knew that her brother had likely been in the clutches of demon's all these years. Deep down, she knew that if that was the case, he was probably dead or not _her_ Daniel anymore. But Maddie hadn't wanted to consider that. she needed to maintain the idea that things could be okay and that Daniel could be okay. That she could have a family again.

Truthfully, she'd sent Sam off to find Clarita, knowing deep down that she wouldn't be with Daniel. She wanted Clarita out safe and she knew Sam would get her out of here, but she had a secret feeling she might not be leaving with them. She wished she was surprised by how things had transpired, but she wasn't.

"You know what's funny?", questioned Daniel, "the fact that you could wipe me out without an ounce of effort, but you won't. You won't because you want to convince yourself that you're the good guy. So you're going to let me do whatever the hell I want to do without fighting back. I'm just a kid with a whole lot of demon blood inside me and I'm going to kill an archangel nephilim. Life's funny like that, isn't it sis".

"It doesn't have to go down like this", stated Maddie, resigned. 

"I think it does", argued Daniel with a menacing smirk on his face. Daniel casually squeezed a fist and she felt a sudden and intense pain in her stomach. Maddie knew she could stop this, but she wasn't going to. 

She could stop herself from getting so much as a scratch from Daniel, but she wasn't going to. She wasn't going to fight Daniel, she wasn't prepared to hurt him.

As she wondered how badly she'd come out of this, a little voice in her head was telling her that it was what she deserved.

The voice sounded suspiciously like her own. 

* * *

It didn't take Sam long to drive Clarita to the bunker. The abandoned warehouse that Maddie had used as a doorway to hell, had only been a 20 minute drive from the bunker. The whole of the ride back was spent in a tense silence. Sam sent a glance to Clarita every few minutes and he could see the pain etched into her face that she was trying to suppress.

Typical hunter.

Sam knew that he didn't have much of choice than to bring Clarita back to the bunker. She'd been tortured and she was injured, she needed help. He couldn't just leave and head back into hell for Maddie. He rationalised to himself that Maddie was capable of handling herself, she was a Nephilim. If Maddie couldn't take care of herself, then Sam had no chance in hell of helping her at all, but he couldn't shake the feeling that she was in trouble. Leaving someone behind went against every fibre in Sam's body and he felt guilty, but he told himself that it was the right choice. He could get back to the bunker, Clarita could be healed and then they could figure out how to help Maddie together, if she even did need help.

"We're here", announced Sam quietly as they arrived at the bunker.

* * *

The adrenaline Clarita had seemed to drain fast and her legs looked barely capable of holding her upright. Sam tried to get her to let him carry her into the bunker, not sure she could make it down the stairs, but she'd fiercely refused. She only just about let him help her, but as they made their way down the steps, she began leaning more heavily into him. Her breathing seemed rapid and Sam began to worry, but as the worry set in, a commotion from the bunker stopped him in his tracks.

Jack was sat on a chair in a panic. Lights were flashing around him, broken glass and strewn books were discarded on the floor. Cas was crouched by Jack, attempting to sooth him and Dean was returning to the room with an intact glass of whiskey, all of the one's in the room, apparently broken. 

His arrival caused the members in the bunker to pause. 

"Cas, we need your help", stated Sam, ignoring the unnatural situation he'd just walked in to. 

Dean put down his glass and came to Sam's aid, supporting the other side of Clarita. Clarita was fading into unconsciousness. Sam could only see the injuries on the outside, he had no idea if there was more serious injuries internally. If her lack of responsiveness was anything to go by, there was.

Cas whispered something to Jack before striding towards Sam, Dean and Clarita.

"This is Clarita", explained Sam briefly.

Cas simply nodded, he then placed a hand over Clarita's head.

"She has internal bleeding, it's serious, but even a human doctor could heal her in time. I'll heal her and she'll be fine", informed Cas. He then placed his hand on her head again, and slowly, the bruises and lacerations began to disappear and were replaced with healthy skin. Cas removed his hand and Clarita looked okay again, but she still wasn't waking.

"She's healed, but hell has taken a toll on her. She needs rest, so I have put her asleep to give her some time to recuperate", explained Cas.

Sam nodded appreciatively and then proceeded to lift Clarita fully into his arms.

"I'm going to lay her down in one of the bedroom's", informed Sam.

When Sam returned, Jack immediately began to talk. Jack had spoken since he'd joined them at the bunker, but he rarely did so without needing any coaxing. 

"She's dead? She's gone isn't she?", panicked Jack

"What? No...she's, she's...", Sam trailed off because he wasn't really sure how Maddie was.

"What happened?", questioned Cas seriously.

"We travelled through most of hell with no problem, but then we realised that we were heading to the part of hell where I met with Lucifer back when we were worrying about the darkness. When we did get there, the whole room was full of demons, hundreds of them. Maddie said we should split up. I took Lucky and we found Clarita and she was in a bad way. Before we split up, Maddie made me promise not to wait around for her and to get Clarita and Daniel to safety. She said that she'd meet me on the other side, but I shouldn't wait because Daniel and Clarita could get hurt. I think that, deep down, she knew things weren't going to go simply and that's why she told me to leave. I knew I needed to get Clarita to Cas, but now I have, I'm headed back there to get Maddie", explained Sam, "Daniel wasn't with Clarita and she told me that Daniel...he's been drinking demon blood, daily since he was kidnapped. He's more demon now, then he is human. He isn't down in hell because he's being forced to stay there, it's his home. I think maybe Maddie knew something was off and wanted to get to Daniel before I did and sent me off to find Clarita". 

"She's in trouble, I can feel it. I have a connection with her and she's in pain. It's more than just physical pain. She's full of sadness...and guilt", claimed Jack.

"No one in hell should be able to match her strength. Even a thousand demon's shouldn't be able to harm her", interrupted Cas in confusion.

"Maybe it's Daniel who's hurting her. It would explain why someone's managing to hurt her. If it's Daniel, her guilt could be stopping her from stopping him. Her love could stop her from hurting him", added Sam.

"Sam, I sat back and said nothing whilst you went down there once and now you've got a flap of skin that's an inch deep peeling away from your arm and blood pouring down it. That was with a Nephilim on your side, you're not going back down there again on your own", argued Dean.

"I will go", announced Jack, "My connection with her means that I can go directly to her in an instant. It won't take me long. Maddie didn't have the line of connection to Daniel and Clarita like we do. It will be easier for me to locate her".

Cas looked like he was about to argue, but before he could, Jack was already gone.

"I'm sure Jack will be fine, Cas. He's Lucifer's kid, he's powerful", began Sam as he tried to reassure a worried Cas. 

"So is Maddie, yet here we are", reminded Cas. 

Before Sam could reply, Jack appeared in the bunker once again, but this time he had Maddie in his arms. 

Jack quickly turned and left the room. 

Sam, Dean and Cas quickly followed. 

Jack had headed towards the room that was currently his. 

He carefully laid Maddie down on his bed, allowing the others to see Maddie properly. 

Sam swallowed down guilt as he took in her bloody body. Her shirt was now red from her own blood. She was covered in deep incisions, all over her body. Her face was swollen and marred with angry blue and purple skin. Her wrist was bent at an odd angle and her shoulder looked dislocated. She looked like a serious car crash victim. 

"What the hell happened?", questioned Dean, breaking the tense silence. 

"Her brother happened", answered Jack sadly, "And he's going to be a problem for all of us". 

* * *

 


End file.
